Hurricanes indirectly cause thousands of deaths for nearly 15 years after a storm, study finds

Hurricanes are known for causing deaths and severe damage along their paths, but new research suggests major weather events like these are an indirect driver of thousands more deaths for years after a storm passes.  

In the study, published Wednesday in Nature, Stanford University researchers found a "robust increase in excess mortality" following tropical cyclones in the United States between 1930 and 2015. The authors also observed the increase in deaths persists for about 15 years after each weather event.

Tropical cyclones are defined in the study as both hurricanes and tropical storms.