January 8, 2025
2 min learn
Flooding’s Hidden Killers Embody Coronary heart Assaults and Infections
A brand new examine discovered that flood deaths can rise by 25 p.c three months after a catastrophe
Folks examine the flood harm within the Biltmore Village within the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on September 28, 2024 in Asheville, North Carolina. Hurricane Helene made landfall Thursday night time in Florida’s Huge Bend with winds as much as 140 mph.
Sean Rayford/Getty Photographs
CLIMATEWIRE | Floods could possibly be deadlier than beforehand thought — and from extra than simply drowning.
A examine printed Tuesday in Nature discovered that the variety of U.S. deaths in flooded areas continued to rise for as much as three months after the catastrophe, leading to a 25 p.c greater dying price from issues like infections, accidents and coronary heart illness, in contrast with intervals of no flooding.
The researchers from Columbia College used a statistical mannequin to research nationwide dying information from 2001 to 2018 and calculate how dying charges modified within the three months following floods versus regular circumstances.
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They discovered that the residents of two,711 counties skilled floods throughout that timeframe, with heavy rain and snowmelt being the highest causes of flooding.
“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” than hurricanes, mentioned creator Victoria Lynch, a postdoctoral analysis fellow on the Columbia Mailman College of Public Well being.
Particularly, the researchers discovered that rain-related flooding was related to elevated deaths from infectious ailments, whereas flooding from melting snow was related to greater dying charges from respiratory and cardiovascular ailments.
“There is a hidden burden of exposure to floods that people may not be thinking about having an effect over time,” mentioned creator Robbie Parks, assistant professor of environmental well being sciences at Columbia. “There is a big infection issue, but even the indirect effects of flooding adding stress can have an impact on cardiovascular health.”
Reprinted from E&E Information with permission from POLITICO, LLC. Copyright 2025. E&E Information offers important information for power and surroundings professionals.
