Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-c47g7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-24T09:54:07.831Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

32 - Floods

from SECTION B - ENVIRONMENTAL EVENTS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 August 2011

By
Mark E. Keim
Edited by
Kristi L. Koenig  and
Carl H. Schultz
Kristi L. Koenig
Affiliation:
University of California, Irvine
Carl H. Schultz
Affiliation:
University of California, Irvine
Get access

Summary

Water, water everywhere, and all the boards did shrink; Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink.

– Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Coleridge

OVERVIEW

Definition and Classification

Floods are defined as “the overflow of areas that are not normally submerged with water or stream that has broken its normal confines or has accumulated due to lack of drainage.”

Engineers studying past floods use statistics to estimate the chance that floods of various sizes will occur. For example, a flood found to occur on the average of 10 times in 100 years would be called the 10% chance flood or the 10-year flood. A flood that only occurs on the average of once every 100 years would have a 1% chance of occurring in any particular year and would be called the 100-year flood or 1% chance flood.

Floods are classified according to cause (high rainfall, tidal extremes, or structural failure) and nature (e.g., regularity, speed of onset, velocity and depth of water, and spatial and temporal scale). This chapter will discuss impacts according to health outcomes. The influence of flood characteristics on health impacts is discussed where appropriate.

Causes of Floods

Floods may be caused by natural processes that are either fluvial (an abundance of rainfall or melting snow) or coastal (hurricane-related storm surge, coastal inundations, or seismically induced tsunami) in origin.

Keywords

disaster risk managementflood-related morbidityflood-related mortalitysustainable flood risk managementhealthcare facilitypublic health impacts
Type
Chapter
Information
Koenig and Schultz's Disaster Medicine
Comprehensive Principles and Practices
 , pp. 529 - 542
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Gunn, SWA. Multilingual Dictionary of Disaster Medicine and International Relief. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1990.
,Floodplain Management Association. Overview of floodplain management. Available at: http://www.floodplain.org/overview_of_floods.htm. Accessed September 2, 2007.
Malilay, J. Floods. In: Noji, ER, ed. The Public Health Consequences of Disasters. New York: Oxford; 1997:287–300.
Bey, T, Weizsaecker, E, Koenig, KL. Global warming: polar bears and people – implications for public health preparedness and disaster medicine: a call to action. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2008;23(2):101–102.Google Scholar
Poole, J, Hogan, D. Floods. In. Hogan, D, Burstein, J, eds. Disaster Medicine. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2007:214–4.
,Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Morbidity surveillance following the Midwest flood – Missouri, 1993. MMWR. 1993;42(41):797–798.Google Scholar
Keim, M. Cyclones, tsunamis and human health. Oceanography. 2006;19(2):40–49.Google Scholar
,International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. World Disaster Report 2006. Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian Press; 2006:211–218.
,National Weather Service. Natural hazard statistics. Available at: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/hazstats.shtml. Accessed November 26, 2008.
,U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey. Flood Hazards – A National Threat. U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2006–3026. Available at: http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2006/3026/. Accessed November 26, 2008.
Llewellyn, M. Floods and tsunamis. Surg Clin Am. 2006;86 :557–578.Google Scholar
Parret, C, Melcher, NB, James, RW. The discharges in the upper Mississippi River basin. US Geological Survey Circular 1120-a. Denver, CO: US Government Printing Office. 1993.
,Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Storm-related mortality – Central Texas, October 17–31, 1998. MMWR. 2000; 49(07):133–135.Google Scholar
,Munich Reassurance Company. Annual Review: Natural Catastrophes 2002. Available at: http://www.unep.org/download_file.multilingual.asp?FileID=96. Accessed November 26, 2008.
,Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tropical Storm Allison rapid needs assessment Houston, Texas, June 2001. MMWR. 2002;51(17):365–369.Google Scholar
,Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Public health consequences of a flood disaster – Iowa, 1993. MMWR. 1993;42:653–656.Google Scholar
Noji, E. Public health issues in disasters. Crit Care Med. 2005;33(1):S29–33.Google Scholar
,Federal Emergency Management Agency. Federated States of Micronesia Drought Emergency Declaration, July 31, 2007. Available at: http://www.fema.gov/news/event.fema?id=8465. Accessed November 26, 2008.
Tunstall, S, Tapsell, S, Green, C, et al. The health effects of flooding: social research results from England and Wales. J Water Health. 2006;(04)3: 365–380.Google Scholar
Euripidou, E, Murray, V. Public health impacts of floods and chemical contamination. J Pub Health. 2004;26(4):376–383.Google Scholar
Potera, C. Fuel damage from flooding: finding a fix. Env Health Persp. 2003;111(4). Available at: http://www.ehponline.org/members/2003/111-4/innovations.html. Accessed November 26, 2008.Google Scholar
,Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Health concerns associated with mold in water damaged homes after hurricanes Katrina and Rita – New Orleans area, Louisiana, October 2005. MMWR. 2006;55(02):41–45.Google Scholar
Ivers, LC, Ryan, ET. Infectious diseases of severe weather-related and flood-related natural disasters. Curr Opin Infect Dis. 2006;19(5): 408–414.Google Scholar
Noji, E. Natural disaster management. In: Auerbach, P. ed. Wilderness Medicine: Management of Wilderness in Environmental Emergencies. 4th ed. St. Louis: Mosby; 2001:1603–1621.
Peters, M. Hospitals respond to water lost during the Midwest floods in 1993: preparedness and improvisation. J Emerg Med. 1996;14(3):345–350.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watson, JT, Gayer, M, Connolly, MA. Epidemics after natural disasters. Emerg Infect Dis. 2007;13(1). Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/13/1/1.htm. Accessed November 26, 2008.Google Scholar
Kim, SH. Flood. In Ciottone, G. ed. Disaster Medicine. 3rd ed. Philadelphia: Mosby; 2006:489–491.
,WHO. Europe fact sheet 05/02 Flooding: health effects and preventive measures. Available at: www.euro.who.int. Accessed August 20, 2007.
Ahern, M, Kovats, RS, Wilkinson, P, et al. Global health impacts of floods: epidemiologic evidence. Epidemiol Rev. 2005;27:36–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Staes, C, Orengo, JC, Malilay, J, Rullan, J, Noji, E. Deaths due to flash floods in Puerto Rico, January 1992: implications for prevention. Intl J Epidemiol. 1994;23:968–975.Google Scholar
,American National Red Cross. Flood and flash flood. Available at: http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/keepsafe/flood.html. Accessed November 26, 2008.
,Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Morbidity and mortality associated with Hurricane Floyd–North Carolina, September–October 1999. MMWR. 2000;49(17):369–372.Google Scholar
Schultz, J. Epidemiology of tropical cyclones: the dynamic of disaster, disease, and development. Epidemiol Rev. 2005;27:21–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Noji, E. The nature of disasters. In: Noji, ER, ed. The Public Health Consequences of Disasters. New York: Oxford; 1997:3–20.
,Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Current trends flood disasters and immunization – California. MMWR. 1983;32(13):171–178.Google Scholar
Tuffs, A, Bosch, X. Health authorities on alert after extensive flooding in Europe. BMJ. 2002;325:405.Google Scholar
,Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Norovirus outbreak among evacuees from hurricane Katrina – Houston, Texas, September 2005. MMWR. 2005;54:1016–1018.Google Scholar
,Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Two cases of toxigenic Vibrio cholerae O1 infection after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita – Louisiana, October 2005. MMWR. 2006;55:31–32.Google Scholar
,Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vibrio illnesses after hurricane Katrina – multiple states, August–September 2005. MMWR. Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov.mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5437a5.htm. Accessed August 20, 2007.
,Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Infectious disease and dermatologic conditions in evacuees and rescue workers after Hurricane Katrina – multiple states, August–September, 2005. MMWR. 2005;54:961–964.Google Scholar
McCarthy, MC, He, J, Hyams, KC, et al. Acute hepatitis E infection during the 1988 floods in Khartoum, Sudan. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1994;88:177.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woodruff, BA, Toole, JM, Rodriguez, DC, et al. Disease surveillance and control after a flood in Khartoum, Sudan, 1988. Disasters. 1990;14:151–163.Google Scholar
,Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Rapid assessment of vectorborne diseases during the Midwest flood United States, 1993. MMWR. 1994;43(26):481–483.Google Scholar
,Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Report: International notes health assessment of the population affected by flood conditions – Khartoum Sudan. MMWR. 1989;37(51&52):785–788.Google Scholar
Guha-Sapir, D, Panhuis, W. The Andaman Nicobar earthquake and tsunami 2004: impact on diseases in Indonesia. Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED), Brussels Belgium 2005. Available at: http://www.tsunami-evaluation.org/NR/rdonlyres/10D559A4-0FB9-4F1D-A666-8ACCD173CAC3/0/cred_Tsunami_report_health_disease1.pdf. Accessed September 3, 2007.
,Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Report: leptospirosis after flooding of a university campus – Hawaii, 2004. MMWR. 2006;55(05):125–127.Google Scholar
Gerrity, E, Flynn, B. Mental health consequences of disasters. In: Noji, ER, ed. The Public Health Consequences of Disasters. New York: Oxford; 1997:101–121.
Ohl, C, Tapsell, S. Flooding and human health: the dangers posed are not always obvious. BMJ. 2000;321:1167–1168. (Editorial)Google Scholar
French, JG, Holt, KW. Floods. In Gregg, MB, ed. The Public Health Consequences of Disasters. Atlanta: US Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, CDC; 1989:69–78.
,United Nations Environment Programme. Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment. Available at: http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=97&ArticleID=1503. Accessed November 26, 2008.
World Summit on Sustainable Development Plan of implementation, Johannesburg, South Africa, Find at url: http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/html/documents/summit_docs/2309_planfial.htm. Accessed August 20, 2007.
Werrity, A. Sustainable flood management: oxymoron or new paradigm? Area. 2006;38(1):16–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tapsell, S, Penning-Rowsell, E, Tunstall, S, et al. Vulnerability to flooding: health and social dimensions. Phil Trans R Soc Lond. 2002;360:1511–1525.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
,Anonymous. Katrina reveals fatal weaknesses in US public health. Lancet. 2005;366:867. (Editorial)Google Scholar
Pielke, RA, Downton, MW, Barnard, Miller JZ. Flood Damage in the United States, 1926–2000: A Reanalysis of National Weather Service Estimates. Boulder, CO: UCAR. Available at: http://www.flooddamagedata.org./. Accessed November 26, 2008.
,US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service. Floods: The Awesome Power. Available at: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/brochures/floodbrochure_9_04_low.pdf. Accessed November 26, 2008.
,Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Outbreak of diarrheal illness associated with a natural disaster – Utah. MMWR. 1983;32(50):662–664.Google Scholar
Nelson, C, Lurie, N, Wasserman, J, et al. Conceptualizing and defining public health emergency preparedness. Am J Public Health. 2007;97(S1):S9–11.Google Scholar
deBoer, J, Dubouloz, M, eds. Handbook of Disaster Medicine. The Netherlands: International Society of Disaster Medicine; 2000.
Keim, M. Developing a public health emergency operations plan: a primer. Pac Health Dialog. 2002;9:124–129.Google Scholar
Lutgendorf, SK, Antoni, MH, Ironson, G, et al. Physical symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome are exacerbated by the stress of Hurricane Andrew. Psychosom Med. 1995;57:310–323.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

  • Floods
  • Edited by Kristi L. Koenig, University of California, Irvine, Carl H. Schultz, University of California, Irvine
  • Book: Koenig and Schultz's Disaster Medicine
  • Online publication: 05 August 2011
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511902482.034
Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • Floods
  • Edited by Kristi L. Koenig, University of California, Irvine, Carl H. Schultz, University of California, Irvine
  • Book: Koenig and Schultz's Disaster Medicine
  • Online publication: 05 August 2011
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511902482.034
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Floods
  • Edited by Kristi L. Koenig, University of California, Irvine, Carl H. Schultz, University of California, Irvine
  • Book: Koenig and Schultz's Disaster Medicine
  • Online publication: 05 August 2011
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511902482.034
Available formats
×