Ilse Nicole Heredia’s case study provides an overview of the 2019 U.S. polar vortex. Extreme cold temperatures led to infrastructural and supply chain damages, causing many deaths and injuries in cities across the Midwest. During the disaster, one significant gap in preparedness was a lack of shelter for individuals experiencing homelessness. To address this inadequacy, cities adapted hotels, churches, schools, and government buildings into temporary shelters.
Heredia comments that as those in the Midwest have prior experience with similar weather events, they were more prepared to respond to the disaster and communicated effectively to inform individual actions prior to, during, and after the event to ensure their safety.