BLOG WRITING ASSINGMENT

IN CASE OF FLOOD

Floods make an enormous impact on the environment and society. Floods destroy drainage systems in cities, causing raw sewage to spill out into bodies of water. Also, in cases of severe floods, buildings can be significantly damaged and even destroyed. This can lead to catastrophic effects on the environment as many toxic materials such as paint, pesticide and gasoline can be released into the rivers, lakes, bays, and ocean, killing maritime life. Floods may also cause millions of dollars worth of damage to a city, both evicting people from their homes and ruining businesses.

Flooding has been shown to cause epidemics of water-borne and vector-borne disease, which are the most common flood-related diseases. Examples are typhoid fever, cholera and Hepatitis A or E. Water-borne outbreaks of diarrheal illness after floods are thought to result primarily from contamination of water caused by disruption of water purification and sewage disposal systems. However, it has been hypothesized that the secondary effects of flooding, including crowding and subsequent fecal-oral spread of gastrointestinal pathogens, may also contribute to spread of diarrheal diseases. Flood-related diarrheal epidemics cause significant morbidity and mortality throughout the world. People with low resistance, mainly elderly people and young children, are vulnerable to these diseases as well.

The relation between flooding and vector-borne disease (dengue,malaria) is complex. Many important infections are transmitted by mosquitoes, which breed in slow-moving water. Floodwaters can wash away breeding sites and lower mosquito-borne transmission. On the other hand, the collection of stagnant water due to the blocking of drains, especially in urban settings, can also be associated with increases in transmission.

Other flood-related diseases which are not mentioned in the article including Rodent-borne disease. Diseases transmitted by rodents may increase during heavy rainfall and flooding because of altered patterns of contact. Examples include Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome and leptospirosis. Risk factors for leptospirosis included flooding of open sewers and streets during the rainy season . Increased exposure to floodwaters contaminated by urine from animals infected with Leptospira species can cause fever-like illness and some deaths from hemorrhagic manifestations and shock.

In addition to the health outcomes detailed above, the other flood-related health impacts, including Acanthamoeba keratitis, epilepsy, leukemia, lymphoma, spontaneous abortion, melioidosis, effects of chemical contamination, infection from soil helminths and schistosomiasis.

The only way to curb the water-borne and vector-borne disease is to improve the people’s hygienic behaviour and to provide them with certain basic needs: drinking water, washing and bathing facilities and sanitation. Water is disinfected to kill any pathogens that may be present in the water supply and to prevent them from growing again in the distribution systems. Disinfection is then used to prevent the growth of pathogenic organisms and to protect public health and the choice of the disinfect depends upon the individual water quality and water supply system. The two most common methods to kill microorganisms in the water supply are: oxidation with chemicals such as chlorine, chlorine dioxide or ozone, and irradiation with Ultra-Violet (UV) radiation.