Research has shown that flooding, caused by events like atmospheric rivers and torrential thunderstorms, is increasing in the US and around the world. These events are also predicted to increase because of climate change. There will probably be more coastal, river, and flash floods, and about 72 percent more Americans will exposed to flooding by 2050. Now researchers have evidence that large floods also increase mortality significantly. Major flood events were linked to a 24.9 percent increase in mortality compared to times without disruptive flooding. This study included events like heavy rain and massive snowmelts that are not related to hurricanes as well. The findings have been reported in Nature Medicine.
In this work, the researchers analyzed data from over 35 million US death records between 2001 and 2018. Computational tools were used to determine the change in death rates in the three-month periods after major floods; this data was compared to the rates during times without those floods.
Death rates due to injury were most increased by 24.9 percent among older people and by 21.2 percent among females in months with tropical storm or hurricane-related flooding,
Floods related to snowmelt were linked to a 22.3 percent increase in respiratory disease deaths, a 15.9 percent increase in neuropsychiatric-related deaths, and an 8.9 percent increase in cardiovascular diseases.
"In the US, floods have a devastating effect on society, yet a comprehensive assessment of their continuing health impacts had been lacking," noted senior study author Robbie M. Parks, an assistant professor at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. "Our study is a first major step in better understanding how floods may affect deaths, which provides an essential foundation for improving resilience to climate-related disasters across the days, weeks, months, and years after they wreak destruction."
This research team has previously shown that death rates are elevated after US tropical cyclones; that socially vulnerable communities of color are disproportionately affected; and tropical cyclones are linked to the spread of waterborne infectious diseases.
"Flooding is an urgent public health concern as sea level rise, rapid snowpack melting, and increased storm severity will lead to more destructive and frequent events," noted first study author Victoria Lynch, PhD, a postdoctoral research fellow at Columbia Mailman. "Our results show that floods were associated with higher death rates for most major causes of death, even for rain- and snow-related floods that are less likely to generate rapid emergency responses."
Sources: Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, Nature Medicine
