Health Impact of the June 2013 Floods in the Southwest

In June 2013, severe flooding struck the Hautes-Pyrénées (65) and Haute-Garonne (31) departments, causing major disruptions and extensive property damage. Since this type of natural disaster is likely to have effects on the health of the affected population, two approaches were prioritized: - a prospective population-based cohort study using self-administered questionnaires to assess the short-term (four months) and medium-term (sixteen months) effects of the event. It included residents of four municipalities affected to varying degrees by the floods. - a spatio-temporal ecological study to assess immediate psychological distress (three weeks after the floods) using medical-administrative databases from the national inter-regime health insurance system and data on the dispensing of psychotropic medications. These two complementary approaches demonstrated that while no significant immediate impact on the prescription of psychotropic medications was observed in the post-flood period, the results of the cohort study highlight the existence of a psychological impact (post-traumatic stress disorder, depressive state), exacerbated by financial difficulties. The conclusions of these studies underscore the importance of considering the impact of floods in terms of the severity and duration of exposure. Recommendations include better targeting, in the days following the floods, the populations most at risk of short- and medium-term impacts—particularly those who have suffered significant property damage—in order to provide them with appropriate care.

Author(s): Dogue F, Guinard A, Riviere S, Mouly D

Publishing year: 2016

Pages: 50 p.

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