Extreme Weather: Mental Health Challenges and Community Response Strategies

Abstract

The health of populations is inseparably linked with weather and climate. Extreme weather events like heat waves, storms, droughts, and dangerous flooding, bring damage and destruction in their wake. Damages to infrastructure and other built environment are easily visible after an extreme weather event. Beside the risks of physical injury and death, extreme weather events create many mental health consequences. It is the developing countries and the poor and vulnerable sections of their populations that are affected most. The capacity of a community to prepare and plan for such extreme weather is an important determinant of the severity of the health consequences. The existing public health and safety systems are significant factors in responding to extreme weather disaster emergencies. Other factors that need attention while responding to extreme weather events include the age, gender, education, medical condition and socio economic status of the affected populations. It must be noted that the extreme weather events also affect agriculture yields and the long-term food security of nations. Therefore, governments, community institutions, non-governmental organizations, international agencies, and individual citizens must give priority to preparing for and adapting to the impacts of all future extreme weather events. This chapter presents an overview of but one often overlooked human health consequence of extreme weather events: mental health following natural disasters and the efforts taken by government, community, and the agencies extant that rush to help, to deal effectively with present and future extreme weather events. The chapter also looks at some of the best practices adopted in response to extreme weather events.