This paper investigates how the risk of tropical cyclone (TC)-blackout-heatwave compound hazards may change in a changing climate, using Harris County, Texas as a case study. Under a high-emissions scenario (RCP8.5), long-duration heatwaves following strong TCs are projected to increase sharply. The expected percentage of Harris County residents experiencing a longer-than-5-day compound hazard in a 20-year period could increase dramatically by a factor of 23 (from 0.8% to 18.2%) over the 21st century. Moderate enhancements to the power distribution network can significantly mitigate this risk, highlighting the urgent need for climate adaptation strategies like undergrounding distribution networks and developing distributed energy sources.

Kairui Feng, Min Ouyang, Ning Lin