BIRMINGHAM – 36 of the 42 Alabama counties that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has declared eligible for individual disaster assistance have poverty rates higher than the national average.
“Natural disasters hit high poverty communities the hardest,” says Kristina Scott, Executive Director of the Alabama Poverty Project (APP). “They are more vulnerable to personal injury and property damage when a storm hits, have fewer financial resources and are more likely to experience severe mental health impacts, including post-traumatic stress disorder.”
According to the US Census Bureau, 14.3 percent of Americans live below the federal poverty threshold. The poverty threshold is determined by age and number of people in a household and was $21,954 for a two-adult, two-child household in 2009, the most recent year for which poverty data is available.
The Census Bureau also reports that 17.5 percent of Alabamians live in poverty. Fourteen of the tornado-impacted counties have poverty rates greater than 20 percent, including Chambers (20.7 percent), Choctaw (22.8 percent), Clarke (29.1 percent), DeKalb (21.7 percent), Franklin (21.8 percent), Greene (28.4 percent), Hale (26.6 percent), Marengo (24.9 percent), Marion (21.2 percent), Monroe (23.4 percent), Perry (31 percent), Pickens (28 percent), Sumter (35.1 percent) and Winston Counties (24.9 percent). A full list of impacted counties with key poverty data is attached. More information is also available on the APP website at http://alabamapossible.org/datasheet/.
In their 2004 report “Poverty and Disasters in the United States,” Sociologists Alice Fothergill and Lori Peek conclude that while poor individuals are more likely to perceive hazards as risky, they are less likely to prepare for hazards or buy insurance; less likely to respond to warnings; more likely to die, suffer injuries, and have proportionately higher material losses; have more psychological trauma; and face more obstacles during the phases of response, recovery, and reconstruction.
In response to the catastrophic tornadoes, APP is compiling resources for individuals to give, volunteer and advocate for those impacted by the storms. They are regularly updated and available at http://alabamapossible.org/tornadorelief.
About the Alabama Poverty Project:
Alabama is the sixth poorest state in the nation. The Alabama Poverty Project (APP) mobilizes Alabamians to eliminate poverty through strategic relationships with faith communities, higher education institutions and civic organizations. For information and resources, visit our website, http://alabamapossible.org.
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| Poverty Rate | ||||
| All Persons 1 | Children 2 | Seniors 2 | Female Headed Households 2 | |
| United States | 14.3% | 20.0% | 9.7% | 37.1% |
| Alabama | 17.5% | 24.6% | 11.8% | 45.1% |
| Autauga | 11.2% | 16.2% | 7.8% | 28.3% |
| Bibb | 18.1% | 25.7% | 12.8% | 49.7% |
| Blount | 14.6% | 20.4% | 12.1% | 39.6% |
| Calhoun | 19.0% | 26.7% | 10.6% | 52.6% |
| Chambers | 20.7% | 30.2% | 12.1% | 44.0% |
| Cherokee | 18.4% | 28.1% | 7.7% | 52.8% |
| Chilton | 18.7% | 27.5% | 10.0% | 38.0% |
| Choctaw | 22.8% | 29.8% | N/A | N/A |
| Clarke | 29.1% | 37.9% | 19.6% | 56.2% |
| Colbert | 16.0% | 24.8% | 9.2% | 48.6% |
| Coosa | 16.7% | 25.4% | N/A | N/A |
| Cullman | 19.3% | 25.7% | 13.5% | 39.4% |
| DeKalb | 21.7% | 32.0% | 15.5% | 41.5% |
| Elmore | 14.2% | 19.2% | 9.9% | 29.6% |
| Etowah | 17.2% | 26.6% | 12.0% | 45.7% |
| Fayette | 19.6% | 26.9% | N/A | N/A |
| Franklin | 21.8% | 29.7% | 12.6% | 50.7% |
| Greene | 28.4% | 39.7% | N/A | N/A |
| Hale | 26.6% | 35.4% | N/A | N/A |
| Jackson | 16.4% | 24.3% | 15.9% | 38.9% |
| Jefferson | 16.5% | 22.9% | 11.1% | 36.2% |
| Lamar | 18.2% | 25.8% | N/A | N/A |
| Lauderdale | 14.5% | 21.8% | 8.0% | 48.9% |
| Lawrence | 16.2% | 22.9% | 10.9% | 44.1% |
| Limestone | 13.5% | 19.1% | 11.3% | 32.4% |
| Madison | 10.3% | 14.7% | 6.3% | 36.4% |
| Marengo | 24.9% | 32.3% | 15.2% | 46.4% |
| Marion | 21.2% | 30.9% | 14.8% | 70.5% |
| Marshall | 19.1% | 26.2% | 14.2% | 54.3% |
| Monroe | 23.4% | 33.2% | 16.6% | 67.8% |
| Morgan | 15.9% | 23.2% | 12.6% | 41.9% |
| Pickens | 28.0% | 34.1% | N/A | N/A |
| Perry | 31.0% | 48.9% | N/A | N/A |
| Shelby | 6.9% | 9.9% | 4.9% | 20.1% |
| St. Clair | 13.8% | 19.3% | 10.3% | 35.0% |
| Sumter | 35.1% | 42.3% | N/A | N/A |
| Talladega | 18.9% | 26.5% | 15.3% | 51.3% |
| Tallapoosa | 17.8% | 28.1% | 9.2% | 48.8% |
| Tuscaloosa | 19.9% | 22.6% | 10.5% | 47.9% |
| Walker | 16.0% | 22.9% | 13.9% | 49.8% |
| Washington | 19.3% | 26.5% | N/A | N/A |
| Winston | 24.9% | 36.4% | 17.2% | 53.8% |
| 1 U.S. Census Bureau, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (2009) | ||||
| 2 U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 3-Year Estimates (2007-2009) | ||||
Tags: alabama, census, natural disasters, poverty, tornadoes, vulnerability
Dear Kristina
I saw you on Good Day this morning and was wondering where are the credit cards that were handed out to the
poverty stricken areas of New Orleans during Katrina by the Federal Government? This would help these folks
at least find and pay for a hotel room
Thank you
Hey Kristina,
This is a great information piece and we are going to repost on our site. ARM is going to be ready especially from the rebuilding side. We will focus on rural counties in the Black Belt area initially so West Alabama is our big focus. Since we are close to Dadeville-I hope to get over that way as well and that be our other focus until we can develop strategies elsewhere. Just wanted to run that by you for now.
thanks Kristina,
lisa
i feel for every one, at this time, but seams that a lot is going into the big towns and no one says or does any thing for the little towns, most of those in big towns have insurance but a lot of the rual and small towns don’t.
we got our foodstamps on april 24,2011 we got tornados on april27,2011 we lost all of our food in the frezzer and refrigertor. and we still have not got any more benefits on our ebt card and no one has answered any of the phone calls. we live in jackson county alabama,and there cant help us with meats and vegetables all i wished they could do is put us our benefits on our card i have been donate my time to the communities in this area lost a week of work, but im not worried about that we are running out of gas for our van. for running back and forth to pisgah so we can have some meat to eat. can the federal govt step in because our state is verhy slow right now .thank