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Healthwatch
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Healthwatch
Respiratory Health Harms Often Follow Flooding: Taking These Steps Can Help
~4.9 mins read
Mold growth and contaminants left after major storms may pose health hazards.
Repair the roof, clean gutters, and seal around skylights, vent pipes, and chimneys to prevent leaks. These are some of the most vulnerable components of a building during storms and hurricanes.
Declutter drains and empty septic tanks.
Construct barriers and seal cracks in outer walls and around windows, to prevent heavy rain and floodwater from entering.
Install a sump pump to drain water from the basement, and backflow valves on sewer lines to prevent water from backing up into the home.
Minimize your stay in flooded regions (particularly after hurricanes) or buildings until they are dry and safe.
Check building for traces of water intrusion, dampness, and mold growth immediately after flooding.
Drain floodwater and dispose of remaining sediment.
Remove affected porous materials. If possible, dry them outdoors under sunlight.
Increase the ventilation rate by leaving all windows and doors open, or use a large exhaust fan to dry out the building as fast as possible.
Use dehumidifiers in damp spaces such as basements.
Upgrade the air filters in your HVAC system to at least MERV 13, or use portable air cleaners with HEPA filters to reduce your exposure to airborne mold spores.
Wear a well-fitted N95 face mask, gloves, and rubber boots to clean.
Clean and disinfect anything that has been in contact with water using soap, detergents, and/or antibacterial cleaning products.
Dispose of moldy materials in sealed heavy-duty plastic bags.
Heavy rains and sea level rise contribute to major flooding events that are one effect of climate change. Surging water rushing into buildings often causes immediate harms, such as drowning deaths, injuries sustained while seeking shelter or fleeing, and hypothermia after exposure to cold waters with no shelter or heat.
But long after news trucks leave and public attention moves on, flooding continues to affect communities in visible and less visible ways. Among the less visible threats is a higher risk of respiratory health problems like asthma and allergic reactions. Fortunately, you can take steps to minimize or avoid flooding, or to reduce respiratory health risks after flooding occurs.
How does flooding trigger respiratory health issues?
Flooding may bring water contaminated with toxic chemicals, heavy metals, pesticides, biotoxins, sewage, and water-borne pathogens into buildings. Afterward, some toxic contaminants remain in dried sediments left behind. When disturbed through everyday actions like walking and cleaning, this turns into microscopic airborne dust. Anything in that dried flood sediment — the toxic chemicals, the metals, the biotoxins — is now in the air you breathe into your lungs, potentially affecting your respiratory health.
Buildings needn't be submerged during flooding to spur respiratory problems. Many homes we studied after Hurricane Ida suffered water intrusion through roofs, windows, and ventilation ducts — and some were more than 100 miles away from coastal regions that bore the brunt of the storm.
The growth of mold can also affect health
Another common hazard is mold, a fungal growth that forms and spreads on damp or decaying organic matter. Indoor mold generally grows due to extensive dampness, and signals a problem with water or moisture. Damp materials inside buildings following a flood create perfect conditions for rapid mold growth.
Mold can be found indoors and outdoors in all climates. It spreads by making tiny spores that float through the air to land in other locations. No indoor space is entirely free from mold spores, but exposure to high concentrations is linked with respiratory complications such as asthma, allergic rhinitis, and sinusitis. Thus, flooding affects respiratory health by increasing the risk of exposure to higher concentrations of mold spores outdoors and indoors.
For example, after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005, the average outdoor concentration of mold spores in flooded areas was roughly double that of non-flooded areas, and the highest concentrations of mold spores were measured indoors. A study on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the flooding in the UK in 2007 showed that water damage accelerated mold growth and respiratory allergies.
Children are especially vulnerable to health problems triggered by mold. All respiratory symptoms — including asthma, bronchitis, eye irritation, and cough — occurred more often in homes reporting mold or dampness, according to a study on the respiratory health of young children in 30 Canadian communities. Other research demonstrates that mold contributes to development of asthma in children.
What can you do to protect against the health harms of flooding?
Our research in New Orleans, LA after Hurricane Ida in 2021 identified common factors — both in housing and flooding events — with great impact on respiratory health. Preliminary results suggest two deciding factors in whether substantial indoor mold appeared were the age of a building's roof and how many precautionary measures people took after flooding from the hurricane. The impact on respiratory health also varied with flood water height, days per week spent at home, and how many precautionary measures were taken after Ida swept through.
Informed by this and other research, we offer the following tips — some to tackle before flooding or heavy rains, and some to take afterward. While you may not be able to entirely prevent flooding from hurricanes or major storms, taking these and other steps can help.
Before seasonal storms, flooding, or heavy rains start: Protect against water intrusion
After flooding or major rainstorms: Move quickly to reduce dampness and mold growth
The Environmental Protection Agency recommends limiting contact with flood water, which may have electrical hazards and hazardous substances, including raw sewage. Additionally:
What to do if you spot mold growth
Taking steps like these — before and after a major storm — goes a long way toward protecting your respiratory health.
Read Flooding Brings Deep Trouble in Harvard Medicine magazine to learn more about the health hazards related to floods.
Worldnews
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Worldnews
Netanyahu, Trump Discuss Forced Transfer Of Palestinians Out Of Gaza
~4.1 mins read
The two leaders tout controversial proposal of pushing Palestinians, who are being bombed and displaced internally by Israel, from Gaza to other countries. Trump, Netanyahu discuss Gaza ceasefire and Palestinian relocation at White House Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has met United States President Donald Trump at the White House, with the two leaders repeating their controversial proposal to forcibly transfer thousands of Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip. Trump and Netanyahu met for dinner in the Blue Room of the White House on Monday as indirect talks in Qatar between Israel and Hamas on US-backed proposals for a 60-day ceasefire to halt the 22-month Gaza war appeared to gather some momentum. Netanyahu told reporters present at the meeting that the US and Israel were working with other countries to give Palestinians a “better future”, suggesting that the residents of Gaza could move to neighbouring nations. “If people want to stay, they can stay, but if they want to leave, they should be able to leave. It shouldn’t be a prison. It should be an open place and give people a free choice,” Netanyahu said. “We’re working with the United States very closely about finding countries that will seek to realise what they always say, that they wanted to give the Palestinians a better future. I think we’re getting close to finding several countries.” Trump, who earlier this year caused outrage when he floated his idea of relocating Palestinians and taking over the Strip to turn it into a “Riviera of the Middle East”, said there had been “great cooperation” on the matter from “surrounding countries”. “So something good will happen,” he added. “This is something the Israelis have been saying for some time, calling it the ‘voluntary migration’ of Palestinians from their homelands. But of course, this has been condemned as ethnic cleansing,” Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut said, reporting from Amman, Jordan. Prominent legal expert Ralph Wilde said there are “clear rules” of international law which prohibit the forced transfer of Palestinians within Gaza or the occupied West Bank, “not only transfer outside of that territory but also forced transfer within it”. “We have to start with with the illegality of Israel’s presence in and of itself. Israel has no right even to be in Gaza or in the West Bank, and therefore everything Israel does there, because its presence is illegal, is also illegal, including the way it treats the Palestinian people at the moment and in implementing any of these plans for forced displacement whether within or outside of Gaza,” he told Al Jazeera. “Also, because it’s part of a widespread and systematic attack directed against the Palestinian people, it is also a crime against humanity, again at the level of state responsibility and individual criminal responsibility,” he added. “Finally, it is also genocide; it is part of the existing ongoing process of intending to inflict on the Palestinian people conditions of life calculated to destroy them in whole or in part. So essentially a war crime, a crime against humanity and the crime of genocide at both an individual criminal level and at the level of the state.” Former Israeli diplomat Alon Pinkas told Al Jazeera any plan to relocate Palestinians is a “recipe for catastrophe”. “The fact that the Israeli defence minister blurts some ideas out, or even the prime minister, or even the president of the United States, doesn’t mean there is a plan,” he said. “In early February, Trump spoke about a Palestinian Riviera, and within 36 hours, he changed that from a Riviera for the Palestinians to the Palestinians will be expelled,” he added. Trump and Netanyahu met as Israeli and Hamas negotiators held a second day of indirect talks in Qatar, seated in different rooms in the same building. Proposals for a 60-day pause in fighting envisage a phased release of Hamas-held captives and Palestinian prisoners, Israeli troop withdrawals from parts of Gaza, and discussions on completely ending the war. But a sticking point is whether the ceasefire will end the war altogether. Hamas has said it is willing to free all the captives in exchange for all Palestinian prisoners and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Netanyahu says the war will end once Hamas surrenders, disarms and goes into exile – something the Palestinian group refuses to do. In advance of Netanyahu’s visit to the US, Trump predicted that a ceasefire deal could be reached this week. But Netanyahu appeared cagey, ruling out a full Palestinian state, saying Israel will “always” keep security control over the Gaza Strip. Monday’s talks in Qatar ended with no announcements. Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, who played an important role in crafting the proposals, is expected to join negotiators in Qatar this week. On Tuesday, Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari said negotiations would “need time”. “I don’t think that I can give any timeline at the moment,” he said. Trump and Netanyahu’s discussions came just over two weeks after the former ordered the bombing of Iranian nuclear sites in support of Israeli air strikes, before announcing a ceasefire in the 12-day Israel-Iran war. During their meeting, Netanyahu gave Trump a letter that he said had been used to nominate the US president for the Nobel Peace Prize. Trump, appearing pleased by the gesture, thanked him. “So much of this is about optics,” said Al Jazeera’s Phil Lavelle, reporting from Washington, DC. “Of course, the [Israeli] prime minister will be very keen to make sure that this is seen back home as a major success … He is very keen to make sure that he is portrayed as being back in the good favours of Donald Trump.” Trump has made little secret of the fact that he covets a Nobel, trumpeting recent truces that his administration facilitated between India and Pakistan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda. Follow Al Jazeera English:...
Read this story on Aljazeera
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Worldnews
UK Threatens Further Action Against Israel If Gaza Ceasefire Proposal Fails
~2.9 mins read
Top British diplomat David Lammy says the US-backed aid distribution mechanism in Gaza is ‘not doing a good job’. British Foreign Secretary David Lammy has decried the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, saying that the United Kingdom could take further action against Israel if a ceasefire deal to end the war in the Palestinian territory does not materialise. Speaking to the Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday, Lammy also criticised the new aid distribution mechanism in Gaza via a group backed by the United States and Israel, dubbed the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). “We’ve been very clear that we don’t support the aid foundation that has been set up,” Lammy said. “We it’s not doing a good job. Too many people are close to starvation. Too many people have lost their lives. We have led globally on our condemnation the system that has been set up.” Hundreds of Palestinians have been gunned down by Israeli fire while seeking GHF assistance over the past weeks. Asked by a legislator whether the British government will take measures against Israel if the “intolerable” situation in Gaza continues, Lammy said: “Yes, we will.” Last month, the UK joined Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway in sanctioning Israeli government ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich for inciting violence against Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank. Weeks earlier, the UK had also suspended talks for a free trade agreement with Israel over the blockade on Gaza, which has sparked a starvation crisis in the territory. And last year, London halted some arms exports to Israel. While welcoming the moves, some Palestinian rights supporters have criticised them as symbolic and failing to impose serious consequences on Israel for its apparent abuses of international humanitarian law. On Tuesday, Lammy condemned settler violence and the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, saying that they are “flouting international law”. Pressed on whether the UK’s pressure on Israel has led the Israeli government to alter its behaviour, Lammy acknowledged that the change is “not sufficient”. Still, he defended London’s record, including recent moves against Israel and support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). “I am very, very comfortable that you would be hard pressed to find another G7 partner or another ally across Europe that’s doing more than this government has done,” he said. Ultimately, Lammy played down the UK’s sway in the Middle East, saying that it is “but one actor”. The UK is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. It is also a major trade partner of Israel. And according to numerous media reports, the British Royal Air Force has conducted hundreds of surveillance flights over Gaza to help locate Israeli captives in the territory. The UK has also cracked down on Palestinian rights activists at home, recently banning the advocacy group Palestine Action and arresting dozens of its supporters. The Labour government in the UK has not recognised Palestine as a state – a move that several European countries have made over the past year. Lammy said London wants its recognition of Palestine to be part of a concrete push towards the two-state solution, not just a symbolic gesture. He added that the UK wants to recognise Palestine at a moment that helps shift “the dial against expansion, against violence, against the horrors that we’re seeing in Gaza, and towards the just cause that is the desire for Palestinian statehood”. But Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Emily Thornberry warned Lammy that with settlement expansion and annexation threats, if the UK continues to delay the decision to recognise Palestine, “there won’t be anything left to recognise”. “We should recognise a Palestinian state and then work towards ensuring that one happens practically,” Thornberry said. “But if we continue to hold back, it’ll slide through our fingers.” Follow Al Jazeera English:...
Read this story on Aljazeera
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Healthwatch
Respiratory Health Harms Often Follow Flooding: Taking These Steps Can Help
~4.9 mins read
Mold growth and contaminants left after major storms may pose health hazards.
Repair the roof, clean gutters, and seal around skylights, vent pipes, and chimneys to prevent leaks. These are some of the most vulnerable components of a building during storms and hurricanes.
Declutter drains and empty septic tanks.
Construct barriers and seal cracks in outer walls and around windows, to prevent heavy rain and floodwater from entering.
Install a sump pump to drain water from the basement, and backflow valves on sewer lines to prevent water from backing up into the home.
Minimize your stay in flooded regions (particularly after hurricanes) or buildings until they are dry and safe.
Check building for traces of water intrusion, dampness, and mold growth immediately after flooding.
Drain floodwater and dispose of remaining sediment.
Remove affected porous materials. If possible, dry them outdoors under sunlight.
Increase the ventilation rate by leaving all windows and doors open, or use a large exhaust fan to dry out the building as fast as possible.
Use dehumidifiers in damp spaces such as basements.
Upgrade the air filters in your HVAC system to at least MERV 13, or use portable air cleaners with HEPA filters to reduce your exposure to airborne mold spores.
Wear a well-fitted N95 face mask, gloves, and rubber boots to clean.
Clean and disinfect anything that has been in contact with water using soap, detergents, and/or antibacterial cleaning products.
Dispose of moldy materials in sealed heavy-duty plastic bags.
Heavy rains and sea level rise contribute to major flooding events that are one effect of climate change. Surging water rushing into buildings often causes immediate harms, such as drowning deaths, injuries sustained while seeking shelter or fleeing, and hypothermia after exposure to cold waters with no shelter or heat.
But long after news trucks leave and public attention moves on, flooding continues to affect communities in visible and less visible ways. Among the less visible threats is a higher risk of respiratory health problems like asthma and allergic reactions. Fortunately, you can take steps to minimize or avoid flooding, or to reduce respiratory health risks after flooding occurs.
How does flooding trigger respiratory health issues?
Flooding may bring water contaminated with toxic chemicals, heavy metals, pesticides, biotoxins, sewage, and water-borne pathogens into buildings. Afterward, some toxic contaminants remain in dried sediments left behind. When disturbed through everyday actions like walking and cleaning, this turns into microscopic airborne dust. Anything in that dried flood sediment — the toxic chemicals, the metals, the biotoxins — is now in the air you breathe into your lungs, potentially affecting your respiratory health.
Buildings needn't be submerged during flooding to spur respiratory problems. Many homes we studied after Hurricane Ida suffered water intrusion through roofs, windows, and ventilation ducts — and some were more than 100 miles away from coastal regions that bore the brunt of the storm.
The growth of mold can also affect health
Another common hazard is mold, a fungal growth that forms and spreads on damp or decaying organic matter. Indoor mold generally grows due to extensive dampness, and signals a problem with water or moisture. Damp materials inside buildings following a flood create perfect conditions for rapid mold growth.
Mold can be found indoors and outdoors in all climates. It spreads by making tiny spores that float through the air to land in other locations. No indoor space is entirely free from mold spores, but exposure to high concentrations is linked with respiratory complications such as asthma, allergic rhinitis, and sinusitis. Thus, flooding affects respiratory health by increasing the risk of exposure to higher concentrations of mold spores outdoors and indoors.
For example, after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005, the average outdoor concentration of mold spores in flooded areas was roughly double that of non-flooded areas, and the highest concentrations of mold spores were measured indoors. A study on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the flooding in the UK in 2007 showed that water damage accelerated mold growth and respiratory allergies.
Children are especially vulnerable to health problems triggered by mold. All respiratory symptoms — including asthma, bronchitis, eye irritation, and cough — occurred more often in homes reporting mold or dampness, according to a study on the respiratory health of young children in 30 Canadian communities. Other research demonstrates that mold contributes to development of asthma in children.
What can you do to protect against the health harms of flooding?
Our research in New Orleans, LA after Hurricane Ida in 2021 identified common factors — both in housing and flooding events — with great impact on respiratory health. Preliminary results suggest two deciding factors in whether substantial indoor mold appeared were the age of a building's roof and how many precautionary measures people took after flooding from the hurricane. The impact on respiratory health also varied with flood water height, days per week spent at home, and how many precautionary measures were taken after Ida swept through.
Informed by this and other research, we offer the following tips — some to tackle before flooding or heavy rains, and some to take afterward. While you may not be able to entirely prevent flooding from hurricanes or major storms, taking these and other steps can help.
Before seasonal storms, flooding, or heavy rains start: Protect against water intrusion
After flooding or major rainstorms: Move quickly to reduce dampness and mold growth
The Environmental Protection Agency recommends limiting contact with flood water, which may have electrical hazards and hazardous substances, including raw sewage. Additionally:
What to do if you spot mold growth
Taking steps like these — before and after a major storm — goes a long way toward protecting your respiratory health.
Read Flooding Brings Deep Trouble in Harvard Medicine magazine to learn more about the health hazards related to floods.
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