16-1 Unequal Risk, Uneven Recovery: How Renters of Color Face the Climate Crisis

by Esther Colón-Bermúdez

Climate change is exacerbating the frequency and severity of disasters like flooding, extreme heat, wildfires, and hurricanes. In 2024, nearly half of all U.S. homes were at risk of severe or extreme damage from these threats. But the burden of that risk doesn’t fall evenly across populations. Renters, especially low-income renters and renters of color, often face greater exposure to natural hazards and have fewer resources to recover from disasters compared to wealthier and white homeowners.

This is not a coincidence. Historical practices like redlining pushed people of color out of wealthier neighborhoods and into disinvested ones, often in floodplains or areas with inadequate infrastructure. Even after the Fair Housing Act of 1968 banned overt discrimination, land-use policies and zoning laws have continued to effectively limit where low-income and Black, Indigenous, and Latinx families can live. Consequently, these communities are disproportionately exposed to natural hazards like flooding and extreme heat, and they often lack financial safety nets, social connections, or readily available information to prepare for or respond effectively to these events.

When natural hazards occur, communities of color are often hit hardest and face the toughest road to recovery. Research from major events like Hurricanes Katrina and Harvey and Winter Storm Uri shows that Black and Latinx households can experience more severe damage to their homes. Recovery is also slower in these communities, especially for multifamily housing, where many low-income renters and renters of color live. Because disasters worsen the affordable housing shortage, finding temporary or replacement housing becomes even harder for these households. On top of that, renters often don’t have a legal say in post-disaster redevelopment decisions, which puts them at greater risk of being displaced during rebuilding efforts.

Renters of color are often left out of disaster recovery assistance and emergency planning. Federal recovery programs tend to prioritize homeowners, offering grants for home repairs, replacement of owner-occupied homes, or even property buyouts. Research has shown that FEMA assistance can also deepen racial wealth gaps: in counties receiving high levels of disaster aid, white homeowners tended to gain wealth after disasters, while Black, Latinx, and Asian households lost wealth. These patterns show how disaster recovery systems often reinforce the inequalities that put renters of color at greater risk in the first place.

As natural hazards become more frequent and severe, equitable preparedness and recovery policies are critical. Today’s disparities in disaster outcomes are not random, they’re the legacy of decades of discriminatory housing and land-use policies. Addressing these inequities requires investing in affordable housing that’s safe from natural hazards. It also means reforming how disaster recovery and preparedness funding is distributed, so that communities of color are not left behind.