KU researchers warn unclear heat-wave authority risks public safety

If a dangerous heat wave hit Lawrence tomorrow, the most basic question would not be how hot it would get. It would be who is in charge of getting people out of the heat before emergency rooms fill up.

University of Kansas researchers say that authority is still blurry across local, state and federal government. Their paper, published in the Journal of Climate Change and Health, says the United States has no consistent nationwide framework for assigning responsibility for heat response, even though heat waves are the deadliest form of meteorological disaster in the country.

KU co-author Nathaniel Brunsell said cities usually end up carrying the load, building heat-action plans that can include cooling centers, warnings and transportation for vulnerable people. The problem, the paper argues, is that those plans often depend on local capacity, shifting federal policy and limited funding rather than a coordinated strategy.

That gap matters in Douglas County because the county already treats extreme heat as a life-safety problem. The 2024 Douglas County Extreme Weather Emergency Shelter plan says extreme cold, heat and storm conditions endanger housed and unhoused people every year, and it says the plan exists to save lives. The shelter system was developed as part of A Place for Everyone, the county and City of Lawrence’s strategic plan to end chronic homelessness.

The county plan is aimed not just at people living outside, but also at residents who cannot meet cooling or warming needs because of financial constraints or precarious housing. Sites are designed to serve up to 40 people at a single location, a number that could be overwhelmed quickly in a prolonged heat emergency if library lobbies, transit stops and apartment units all become unsafe at once.

The practical weak points are easy to see. Transit riders may need a cooling place reachable by bus. Outdoor workers need warnings early enough to change shifts or stop work. Seniors may not see an alert if they do not use a phone app or social media. Unhoused residents may need transportation, water and a place that stays open long enough to matter. Douglas County Emergency Management, Lawrence-Douglas County Fire and Medical, Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health and homelessness-response partners all have a role in that response, but the KU study warns that coordination is uneven when no single level of government clearly owns the problem.

History shows the stakes. CDC-reviewed research on the July 1980 heat wave found 17 straight days in Kansas City with maximum temperatures of 38.9 C or higher, including 10 days above 42.2 C. Kansas City recorded 598 resident deaths that month, compared with 362 in July the year before, and heatstroke rates were higher among the elderly, the poor and nonwhite residents.

The CDC says extreme heat events are becoming more frequent and intense, and they can lead to emergency visits, hospitalizations and death. In Douglas County, that makes clear lines of responsibility more than an administrative issue. It is the difference between warning people in time and counting the cost after the temperature peaks.