January 8, 2025
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Flooding’s hidden killers include heart attacks and infections
A new study found that flood deaths can increase by 25 percent three months after the disaster
People inspect the flood damage in the Biltmore Village after Hurricane Helene on September 28, 2024 in Asheville, North Carolina. Hurricane Helene made landfall Thursday night in Florida’s Big Bend with winds of 140 mph.
Sean Rayford/Getty Images
KLIMAWIRE | Flooding can be more deadly than you think, and more than drowning.
A study published Tuesday nature found that US death tolls continued to rise in flooded areas up to three months after the disaster, as a result, the death rate is 25 percent higher from things like infections, injuries and heart disease compared to non-flooding periods.
Columbia University researchers used a statistical model to analyze death data from 2001 to 2018 and estimate how death rates changed in the three months following the floods.
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Residents in 2,711 counties were found to have experienced flooding during that time period, with heavy rains and melting snow being the main causes of flooding.
“Our results show that floods were associated with higher mortality rates for most of the leading causes of death, as well as floods associated with rain and snow, which are less likely to trigger rapid emergency responses than hurricanes,” said lead author Dr. Victoria Lynch, a postdoctoral researcher. at the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health.
Specifically, the researchers found that rain-related flooding was associated with increased deaths from infectious diseases, while snowmelt flooding was associated with higher death rates from respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.
“There’s a hidden burden of flood exposure that people don’t think will have an impact over time,” said lead author Robbie Parks, an assistant professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia. “There is a big problem of infection, but the indirect effects of flooding can also affect cardiovascular health by adding stress.”
Reprinted E&E News Courtesy of POLITICO, LLC. Copyright 2025. E&E News provides essential news for energy and environmental professionals.
