Natural Disasters Are Primary Reason Island Areas Residents Moved

A Sizable Share of Island Areas Residents Who Moved From 2015 to 2020 Cited Natural Disasters as Main Reason

February 15, 2024

Written by:

James Kent Pugh and Justin V. Palarino

Because of their unique climate and location, Island Areas are at increased risk for severe weather, including tropical storms, typhoons and hurricanes – and that’s a major reason residents moved from 2015 to 2020.

Between 2015 and 2020, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) declared major disasters in all four U.S. Island Areas — American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI).

Roughly a quarter to just over a half of residents (age 5 and over) in the four U.S. Island Areas moved from 2015 to 2020.

During this five-year period, from a quarter to nearly a half of their residents moved to a new residence, according to recently released 2020 Census of the Island Areas tables.

In the three Pacific Island Areas (American Samoa, CNMI, Guam), over 27.0% of movers reported natural disaster(s) as their primary reason for moving. In the USVI, over 41.0% reported moving because of natural disasters.

Between 2015 and 2020, American Samoa had one declared disaster, Tropical Storm Gita. The CNMI experienced three declared disasters — Typhoons Soudelor, Mangkhut, and Yutu. In addition to Typhoon Mangkhut, Guam experienced two additional declared disasters: Typhoons Dolphin and Wutip. And the USVI had two declared disasters, Hurricanes Irma and Maria.

Geographic Mobility in the Island Areas

Roughly a quarter to just over a half of residents (age 5 and over) in the four U.S. Island Areas moved from 2015 to 2020:

American Samoa had the lowest (21.3%) mover rate.
CNMI had the highest (50.5%).
In Guam, more than a third (34.2%) of people in households (excluding those in military housing units) moved.
One third (33.0%) of residents in households reported moving in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Table 1. Geographic Mobility Status by Island Area

Reasons for Moving

The Census Bureau conducts the Island Areas Census – collecting detailed information on social, housing and economic characteristics – every decade alongside the decennial census.

Among other topics, the 2020 Island Areas Census asked movers (those who lived in different residences in 2020 than five years earlier) why they had moved.

Movers chose their primary reason from seven categories:

Employment.
Military.
Housing.
Family-related.
Natural disaster.
To attend school.
Other.

American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam

American Samoa, CNMI and Guam share the same four primary origin geographies (United States, Oceania, Asia and Elsewhere) for international movers because they are geographically located in Oceania.

In these territories, several interesting trends emerged for moves related to natural disasters (Figure 1):

More than a quarter (27.5%) of all movers in American Samoa moved because of natural disasters. The share climbed to 30.0% for those who moved within American Samoa. This category was the second most cited reason after “other” for moving within American Samoa.
The same share (27.5%) of all movers in CNMI also reported natural disasters as their reason for moving. About 30.5% of movers within the island reported “natural disaster” as their primary reason for moving. This was the most common reason within CNMI.
In Guam, 28.2% of all movers in nonmilitary housing units did so for reasons related to natural disasters. Among movers within the island, 31.3% reported this as their primary reason.

Figure 1. Share of People in Pacific Island Areas Who Moved Because of Natural Disaster: 2015 to 2020

U.S. Virgin Islands

The U.S. Virgin Islands are located east of Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Sea. Due to their tropical geography, they are at a heightened risk of hurricanes. Examples include Hurricanes Irma and Maria, which both struck in 2017. These hurricanes caused substantial damage across the Caribbean region and in the USVI.

For this reason, it is not surprising natural disasters were the primary reason cited for moving between 2015 and 2020 (Figure 2). In 2020, 41.4% of USVI movers reported natural disaster(s) as their primary reason for changing residences. The next biggest reason for moving was “to attend school” at 18.4%.