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Large-scale damage to the power infrastructure from hurricanes and high-wind events can have devastating ripple effects on infrastructure, the broader economy, households, com- munities, and regions. Using Hurricane Irma’s impact on Florida as a case study, we examined: (1) differences in electric power outages and restoration rates between urban and rural counties; (2) the duration of electric power outages in counties exposed to tropical storm force winds versus hurricane Category 1 force winds; and (3) the rela- tionship between the duration of power outage and socioeconomic vulnerability. We used power outage data for the period September 9, 2017–September 29, 2017. At the peak of the power outages following Hurricane Irma, over 36% of all accounts in Florida were without electricity. We found that the rural counties, predominantly served by rural electric cooperatives and municipally owned utilities, experienced longer power outages and much slower and uneven restoration times. Results of three spatial lag models show that large percentages of customers served by rural electric cooperatives and municipally owned utilities were a strong predictor of the duration of extended power outages. There was also a strong positive association across all three models between power outage duration and urban/rural county designation. Finally, there is positive spatial dependence between power outages and several social vulnerability indicators. Three socioeconomic variables found to be statistically significant highlight three different aspects of vulnerability to power outages: minority groups, population with sensory, physical and mental disability, and economic vulnerability expressed as unemployment rate. The findings from our study have broader planning and policy relevance beyond our case study area, and highlight the need for additional research to deepen our understanding of how power restoration after hurricanes contributes to and is impacted by the socioeconomic vulnerabilities of communities.
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This content will become publicly available on November 11, 2026
Post-Hurricane Power Outage Recovery: Examining the Influence of Social Vulnerability, Economic Activity, and Critical Facilities
Power outages following hurricanes disrupt social welfare, business operations, and the functioning of public facilities in the affected areas. Extended outages can severely impact community well-being, particularly among vulnerable populations such as the elderly and individuals with medical conditions. While previous studies have investigated disparities in outage recovery, many of them focus on single events and rely on general social vulnerability indices, limiting their ability to identify consistent patterns or capture the specific factors that heighten vulnerability to power disruptions. Moreover, few studies have examined the influence of economic activity or the presence of critical facilities on recovery time. This study analyzes power outage recovery trajectories across 27 U.S. states affected by 21 hurricanes between 2017 and 2024. Using Spatial Durbin Model (SDM) regression analysis, we assess whether counties’ socioeconomic vulnerability, levels of economic activity, and the number of critical facilities consistently explain differences in post-hurricane power outage recovery time. A customized outage-focused Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) was used to more accurately capture population vulnerability to power disruptions. Results indicate that the SVI does not have a consistent effect on recovery time, suggesting no systematic disparities based solely on socioeconomic characteristics. Median income, representing household-level wealth, is negatively correlated with recovery time, while higher county-level economic capacity (measured by GDP per capita) is associated with longer recovery; although both effects vary with outage severity and the inclusion of other model control variables. The number of critical facilities does not show a consistent effect once other county characteristics are accounted for.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2144443
- PAR ID:
- 10710155
- Publisher / Repository:
- The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- IEEE Access
- Volume:
- 13
- ISSN:
- 2169-3536
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 208285 to 208303
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Associated Dataset(s):
- View Associated Dataset(s) >>
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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