Walking on America’s streets may be hazardous to your health, especially if you’re a senior or minority living in the Sun Belt.

Southern cities that grew and sprawled after World War II in the heyday of the automobile are the most dangerous places for pedestrians, according to a report (PDF) out today.

In the decade from 2003 through 2012, 47,025 people died while walking along roads — 16 times the number of Americans killed in earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and tornadoes. Another 676,000 pedestrians were injured.

“That’s one person struck by a truck or car once every eight minutes,” said Roger Millar, director of the National Complete Streets Coalition at Smart Growth America, which conducted the study. “A lot of Southern infrastructure came about during the automobile era … The mindset during that period of time was moving cars, fast. That’s what we got.”

African-Americans and Hispanics have a much higher rate of pedestrian deaths than non-Hispanic whites: 60 percent higher for blacks and 43 percent higher for Hispanics, according to the study.

Hispanic pedestrians in South Carolina were 189 percent more likely than whites to be killed. In Michigan blacks are 134 percent more likely to die while walking than whites.

From 2010 to 2012, pedestrian fatalities overall rose compared with other traffic deaths. Almost 15 percent of all traffic deaths in 2012 were people on foot, compared with 12.3 percent for 2003 through 2012.

The four most dangerous places to walk are in Florida: Orlando, Tampa, Clearwater and Jacksonville. And the five most dangerous states are all in the South: Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, South Carolina and Georgia.

“Most of our large cities grew up after World War II, when there was more focus on moving people with cars,” said Billy Hattaway, a district secretary in the Florida Department of Transportation.