‘Underestimated’: Serious health impact of flooding revealed

The world’s largest study into the serious health risks of flooding has revealed just how long impacted communities can be left suffering after the event.
 
Led by Monash University, researchers analysed more than 300 million hospitalisation records in eight countries prone to flooding events, including Australia.
 
Their research spanned from 2010 to 2019, looking at 747 different communities that had experienced major flood events during that period.
 
Among the areas investigated was the northeast region of New South Wales, the Amazon River and the southern region of Brazil, the Mekong Basin in Vietnam, and the south region of Thailand.
 
Published in Nature Water this month, the study found an increased risk of 26% of all diseases serious enough to require hospitalisation, with this impact on health lasting up to seven months after the natural disaster.
 
Worldwide, flood events were found to lead to increases in hospitalisation for cardiovascular diseases (35%), respiratory diseases (30%), infectious diseases (26%), and digestive diseases (30%).
 
There was also an increase in mental health disorders (11%), diabetes (61%), cancer (34%), nervous system disorders (34%), and renal diseases (40%).
 
Health concerns lasted for up to seven months, 210 days, after the flood event, researchers found.
 
‘The associations were modified by climate type and flood severity and were stronger among those aged less than 20 years or more than 60 years compared with the other age group, and in communities with a higher population density or a higher socioeconomic status,’ authors concluded.
 
‘Policymakers and health professionals should raise awareness of the increased hospitalisation demands from a broad range of diseases after floods to improve disaster response strategies and health system resilience.’
 
They found that the public, patients, and healthcare professionals often hear of adverse flooding impacts such as the contamination of water supply, spread of infectious diseases, fungi, bacteria, viruses, and vectors such as mice, cockroaches and mosquitoes.
 
However, the study added that capacity of healthcare services may also be impaired after floods, leading to delays in regular medical interventions including dialysis, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
 
The health impacts of flooding have been felt in Australia already this year, especially for those living in rural and remote communities.
 
Just this year following severe flooding in Queensland, 184 cases of melioidosis have been reported – three times more than the same time last year, according to Queensland Health.
 
The RACGP has long been calling for GPs’ role in disaster management to be formalised and for their skills to be better recognised.
 
Last year, the college released a new position statement saying GPs must be empowered to volunteer and practice as part of response teams in evacuation centres during disasters and that local practices impacted by a disaster must be supported to remain open and in operation.
 
The study said climate change is only expected to worsen flooding, with 23% of the global population exposed to the possibility of serious flooding in ‘a one in 100-year event’.
 
And, according to co-lead author Professor Yuming Guo, there will be ‘an escalation in the severity, duration and frequency of floods due to the more frequent extreme precipitation events and rising sea levels due to global warming’.
 
‘The health impact of floods may have been underestimated and will further exacerbate as climate changes.’
 
Log in below to join the conversation.

disaster management natural disaster rural and regional