Below is an excerpt from the CEHS member written report titled, Enhancing Community Capacity: Understanding and Mapping Community Environmental Health Impacts of Hurricane Matthew.

Professor Lawrence Engel.

Professor Lawrence Engel

In October 2016, Hurricane Matthew caused record flooding in North Carolina, driving thousands of residents from their homes and causing an estimated $1.5 billion in damage. Although the water has receded, it will take time for the affected communities to recover from the immensity of damage and disruption caused by this disaster. One aspect of the disaster that has received inadequate attention is the potential public health impact of environmental health hazards in and around the affected counties. For instance, mold in buildings, a significant and widespread environmental health hazard that can cause adverse respiratory and other health effects in occupants, may be created or exacerbated by flooding of buildings and inadequate post-flood treatment to remove the moisture and ensuing mold. Flood waters also can transport chemical and biological contaminants from one location to another. Such redistribution of contaminants may go undetected unless specifically evaluated. Similarly, some non-acute or non-specific health effects resulting from exposure to these contaminants may not be recognized as being linked to them.

These problems are likely to become more common in the future (see Hurricanes Sandy, Matthew, and, most recently, Harvey), as climate change continues to increase both the frequency and severity of extreme weather events. As our climate and environment become increasingly unstable, unprecedented flooding in highly developed areas, especially low-lying coastal areas, is likely to become more common. The frequency and severity predictions of “100- year storm events” will become increasingly inadequate, as seen recently in Houston, TX. Failure to anticipate—and prepare for—these changes, which are already underway, will simply compound future disasters, increasing the human, environmental, and monetary costs. Addressing important potential environmental health hazards before they become actual hazards, even in the absence of certainty, is imperative.

This report describes the design and conduct of a preliminary assessment of potential and known environmental health hazards resulting from Hurricane Matthew in two of the most severely impacted counties in North Carolina: Cumberland and Robeson Counties. Due to time constraints associated with study funding, this report represents a preliminary analysis of potential environmental health hazards and concerns in the targeted counties. More detailed analyses and presentation of findings are planned for the future, pending additional resources.

The goal of this study was to create resources that public health professionals, state decision makers, and others could use to prioritize and target community-level environmental health interventions in response to Hurricane Matthew and to help improve public health response to future floods and other disasters in the state. We assessed a wide range of known and potential environmental health hazards to allow a more comprehensive understanding of potential impacts. We focused on communities at large as well as on vulnerable populations, including children, senior citizens, and the disabled, within these communities. For logistical reasons, we restricted our assessment to Robeson and Cumberland counties, two of the hardest hit areas in the state.

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