Flood: Consequences

Flooding accounts for an estimated 40% of all natural disasters.  Flash flooding is the leading cause of weather-related mortality in the world, caused through sudden, unexpected and significant rainfall or storm system advancements.

Social

The social impact of floods primarily encompasses damage to homes and displacement of the occupants that may, in turn, facilitate the diffusion of an virulent strain of bacteria because of cramped and crowded living conditions and less than adequate personal hygiene. Additionally, stress-related mental health or substance-abuse problems may be associated with flood disasters. Found to be a significant redevelopment issue after floods in Europe and the United States, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, a psychological problem developed during the course and directly after a dramatic event like a massive flood, greatly impedes an afflicted individual’s desire to better himself and his community while impairing his judgment. 

In terms of disease spreading, the environmental consequences of flooding can directly affect public health measures. For example, water sources can become contaminated with fecal material or toxic chemicals, water or sewer systems can be disrupted, dangerous substances can be released into the water supply (i.e. propane from damaged storage tanks), and solid-waste collection and disposal can be spilled. In addition, flooding can result in vector borne-associated problems, including stark increases in mosquito populations that, under judicious circumstances, increase the risk for some mosquito borne infectious diseases like malaria and encephalitis.

Floods and other natural disasters often are followed by rumors of plausible epidemics such as typhoid or cholera. The potential for such rumors delegitimizes the need for valid and systematically collected data and the importance of basic public health surveillance in these settings.

Municipal

In terms of municipal ramifications, communities can be greatly set back by floods in both a developmental sense and on an economic level.

First, should water supplies be infected or breached, a major overhaul is necessary for the water providing utility, resulting in significant corporate losses. Related is the plausible taintedness of food products that would be used to feed the displaced. If food supplies are damaged, then a municipality is forced to procure new food stores to disseminate to it‘s citizens, resulting in wasted time and deaths; if electric power is cut or limited by flood waters, then specifically preserved food is necessary.

Waste and sanitation is a primary concern for municipalities in the wake of a flood, considering that those interrelated entities bear tremendous public health implications. Should fecal matter and waste products seep into primary water transplant channels along with the floodwater, the use of all water pipes would be immediately censured, and citizens would be literally stranded insofar as their ability to procure necessary food products. Lastly, such preventative measures should include injury prevention. Flood removal (through pump mechanisms) and mosquito spraying all would cost extensive amounts of money. In the modern age, looking at recent occurrences as benchmarks, approximate costs for these latter named services amounts to nearly 60% of the overall rehabilitation costs at nearly 5 billion US dollars.

Sources Consulted

Sources