Assessing Virginia cooling centers as a heat mitigation strategy.

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Emergency Management
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Extreme heat poses a significant threat in the U.S., causing more fatalities than other weather-related hazards.
• Community cooling centers are recognized as effective interventions for reducing heat vulnerability.
• Effective heat mitigation strategies are crucial for public health and emergency management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the spatial distribution and accessibility of community cooling centers in Virginia.
• To assess emergency managers' understanding of heat-related risks and mitigation strategies.
• To identify disparities in cooling center access among different socioeconomic groups.

Main Methods:

• Conducted surveys with local emergency managers across Virginia.
• Aggregated media reports to identify community cooling center locations.
• Analyzed the proximity of vulnerable populations to identified cooling centers using spatial data.

Main Results:

• Identified 256 cooling centers across 39 Virginia localities, showing significant spatial variability.
• Found that while over 65% of Virginians are within a 15-minute drive of a cooling center, this access is inequitable.
• Less than 7% of Virginia's population below the poverty line live within a 15-minute drive of a cooling center, highlighting a significant access gap.
• Observed low inclusion of comprehensive heat-related hazard information in local hazard plans.

Conclusions:

• Cooling center accessibility in Virginia is inequitably distributed, with lower-income populations having significantly less access.
• There is a need for enhanced cooperation between government and non-government agencies to improve heat-health resilience.
• Further research and policy interventions are required to ensure equitable access to heat mitigation resources.