Flooding can be devastating in every way, including property and infrastructure damage to deaths and health implications. As flooding becomes more frequent for more people living in the warming climate, we examine the effects on the human body. Flooding is among the most frequent natural catastrophe, affecting over 2 billion people between 1998 and 2017, and is responsible for 44% of disasters worldwide. As climate change makes the globe more susceptible to extreme weather events, more people are likely to suffer from flooding and its devastation with serious health implications.
How can flooding affect your health?
The health consequences of natural catastrophes like flooding are complex and cascading and can affect any person or population simultaneously. Floods can have direct as well as long-term impacts on human health directly and indirectly. Additionally, the health of communities affected by flooding is jeopardized. Responders to disasters, as well as healthcare professionals and essential service providers like a water restoration company, could all be affected when natural disasters like floods occur; the focus is given to the financial impact, property damage, and human casualties. But, in several ways, these disasters overlap with health issues.
The impact of flooding on health care can be severe due to the destruction of infrastructure, a loss of health professionals, and a shortage of medical services and care, which can delay care for those in need. The economic fallout or loss of livelihoods and possessions caused by a flooding disaster can cause financial hardship and affect mental health and the grief of losing loved ones. The following is a list of common effects associated with flooding.
Diseases
In times of flooding, illness, and outbreaks are another primary health concern. These may manifest as illnesses resulting from drinking or coming into contact with contaminated water. Diarrhea, cholera, typhoid fever, and leptospirosis can be examples. It can also be a virus-borne illness transmitted by an intermediate species carrying the disease pathogen, for instance, mosquitoes. Dengue malaria and dengue fever are two vector-borne infections due to flooding. Following the receding of floodwaters, the water remains stagnant in gardens, parts of the home, and even agricultural land can become the breeding grounds for mosquitoes, resulting in diseases like dengue and malaria. This is why water damage restoration companies are important to prevent further worsening.
Mental Health
Mental health issues that can arise later are frequently overlooked and unstudied compared to the immediate health consequences of flooding. It is well-known that being a victim of a disaster like a flood may affect people for a long time after the event, often for a long time. Depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), psychosis, and sleeplessness are typical mental health problems resulting from flooding. The clean-up, recovery, and reconstruction process can be difficult, particularly if the public and private sectors do not adequately manage it.
Nutrition
While evidence suggests; otherwise, malnutrition or undernutrition is yet another health issue that may result from flooding, and flood victims are known to eat less when they flood or after it and are often unable to access regular food sources. Flooding can also significantly disrupt food systems such as agriculture. This can have an impact on the quantity as well as the quality of food, which can lead to food insecurity and inadequate nutrition.
Conclusion
The warmer temperatures can trigger more precipitation and extreme weather conditions, causing flooding. It is essential to be prepared when dealing with the health effects of flooding and mitigation efforts like emission reductions. Flooding’s health consequences will only increase if the world does not take quick and decisive action to address climate change.