Hurricanes Linked to 29 Worker Deaths in 2005, BLS Says
Aug. 24, 2006
The 2005 hurricane season claimed the lives of 29 workers, according to the most recent on-the-job fatality data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Hurricane-related fatalities were concentrated in three states: Mississippi (10 fatalities), Louisiana (eight) and Florida (eight). Almost all of the hurricane-related cases in Mississippi and Louisiana were attributed to Hurricane Katrina, while about half of the worker fatalities attributed to hurricanes in Florida were associated with Hurricane Wilma.
Of the 29 cases identified by the agency's 2005 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, nine involved workers who were struck by objects, eight involved transportation-related incidents and five resulted from falls.
While all data from the fatality census are subject to revision, the data on work-related fatalities attributable to hurricanes were especially difficult to collect and verify and therefore may be subject to a larger-than-normal revision, BLS notes.
