This Texas county is mapping climate risks – and the people most exposed

As the climate warms, Nueces County on the Texas Gulf Coast can expect more extreme heat, floods, and storms.

These dangers will imperil people’s health. Floods can spread disease, hurricanes can damage hospitals, and heat waves can cause or worsen illness.

And people with existing financial and health burdens are often more at risk.

During a heat wave, for example, low-income people may not be able to afford air conditioning.

Wowk: “So what do they do when we’re in triple-digit days, day after day, week after week?”

Katya Wowk of the Water Institute helped create [an online map of Nueces County](https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/f23bc86ac0024c4593376b290d2dc0b3/page/geored-experience?views=nueces-community-health-%26-environment https://thewaterinstitute.org/social-determinants-of-health-data-integration-barriers-nueces-county-texas) that shows flood risks, air pollution data, poverty levels, disease prevalence, and more for each census tract.

It can help community leaders connect the dots between these issues.

For example, officials could use it to see where cooling centers will be needed during heat waves.

And a hospital plans to use it to help its doctors learn more about their patients’ challenges.

Wowk: “They can ask more informed questions to their patients … about the conditions that they may be facing that may be impacting their health outcomes.”

So by showing who in Nueces County is most at risk from climate impacts – and why – the map can guide efforts to keep people healthy.

Reporting credit: Ethan Freedman / ChavoBart Digital Media