Estimating changes in emergency department visits associated with floods caused by Tropical Storm Imelda using satellite observations and syndromic surveillance.

Background: Satellite observations following flooding coupled with electronic health data collected through syndromic surveillance systems (SyS) may be useful in efficiently characterizing and responding to health risks associated with flooding.

Results: There was a 10% (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1%-19%) increase in asthma related ED visits and 22% (95% CI: 5%-41%) increase in insect bite related ED visits in the flooded ZCTAs compared to non-flooded ZCTAs during the flood period. One month following the floods, diarrhea related ED visits were increased by 15% (95% CI: 4%-27%) for flooded ZCTAs and children and adolescents from flooded ZCTAs had elevated risk for dehydration related ED visits.