Large floods drive changes in cause-specific mortality in the United States.

Flooding greatly endangers public health and is an urgent concern as rapid population growth in flood-prone regions and more extreme weather events will increase the number of people at risk. However, an exhaustive analysis of mortality following floods has not been conducted. Here we used 35.

Health Disparities in the Aftermath of Flood Events: A Review of Physical and Mental Health Outcomes with Methodological Considerations in the USA.

Purpose Of Review: This review applies an environmental justice perspective to synthesize knowledge of flood-related health disparities across demographic groups in the USA. The primary aim is to examine differential impacts on physical and mental health outcomes while also assessing methodological considerations such as flood exposure metrics, baseline health metrics, and community engagement.

Recent Findings: In our review (n = 27), 65% and 72% of studies identified racial, ethnic, or socio-economic disparities in physical and mental health outcomes post-flooding, respectively.

Redlining, racism and food access in US urban cores.

In the 1930s, the Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) graded the mortgage security of urban US neighborhoods. In doing so, the HOLC engaged in the practice, imbued with racism and xenophobia, of "redlining" neighborhoods deemed "hazardous" for lenders. Redlining has caused persistent social, political and economic problems for communities of color.

Disparities in Health Effects and Access to Health Care Among Houston Area Residents After Hurricane Harvey.

Objectives: Although research shows that public health is substantially affected during and after disasters, few studies have examined the health effects of Hurricane Harvey, which made landfall on the Texas coast in August 2017. We assessed disparities in physical health, mental health, and health care access after Hurricane Harvey among residents of the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas, metropolitan statistical area (ie, Houston MSA).

Methods: We used structured survey data collected through telephone and online surveys from a population-based random sample of Houston MSA residents (n = 403) collected from November 29, 2017, through January 6, 2018.

Environmental injustice and Hurricane Harvey: A household-level study of socially disparate flood exposures in Greater Houston, Texas, USA.

Environmental justice research on flooding has relied heavily on analyses of aggregated geographic areal units and assessing exposure to 'pre-flood' risks (e.g., residence in 100-year flood zones) rather than actual flood events.

Hurricane Harvey and Greater Houston households: comparing pre-event preparedness with post-event health effects, event exposures, and recovery.

Most disaster studies rely on convenience sampling and 'after-only' designs to assess impacts. This paper, focusing on Hurricane Harvey (2017) and leveraging a pre-/post-event sample of Greater Houston households (n=71) in the United States, establishes baselines for disaster preparedness and home structure flood hazard mitigation, explores household-level ramifications, and examines how preparedness and mitigation relate to health effects, event exposures, and recovery. Between 70 and 80 per cent of participants instituted preparedness measures.