The Emotional Toll of Natural Disasters
You may have heard that bad things happen in threes. In 2020 and through the first part of this year - the pandemic would likely top any recent list of devastating events. But for the residents of one Louisiana community, anguish extended beyond a trifecta of misfortune. Over the past ten months, Lake Charles, the state’s fifth-largest city with a population of around 78,000, has endured an unprecedented and relentless series of devastating natural disasters.
Extreme weather, which is becoming more frequent due to climate change, can have lasting effects on mental health. Researchers say these impacts are expected to increase as more people experience the stress—and often trauma—of these disasters.
Hurricane Laura NOAA GOES EAST 8-27-20
Extreme weather, which is becoming more frequent due to climate change, can have lasting effects on mental health. Researchers say these impacts are expected to increase as more people experience the stress—and often trauma—of these disasters.
In August of 2020, Lake Charles, Louisiana endured the wrath of one of the strongest hurricanes to ever make landfall in the area, Hurricane Laura. The fierce winds of the monster storm decimated buildings, destroyed homes, and left tens of thousands without power. The Louisiana Department of Health reported that 31 of the state's residents lost their lives.
Just six weeks later, the massive recovery efforts in Laura’s wake came to a grinding halt. Another hurricane, Delta, made landfall on Gulf Coast, about 30 miles south of Lake Charles. For the beleaguered residents of Southwest Louisiana, this was an extraordinary one-two punch.
Hurricane season was finally over on November 30th. Climatologically, winters in the region are less troublesome as they are typically brief and relatively mild. In February 2021, though, a rare deep freeze plunged Lake Charles’ low temperatures down to record, brutal levels in the teens. The air got so cold, so fast, that pipes burst in thousands of residents’ homes. That led to the city issuing a “boil water” advisory that lasted a week.
In May 2021, extreme weather roared back to the region in the form of catastrophic flooding. The National Weather Service reported Southwest Louisiana received 12 to 15 inches over the course of just 12 hours on May 17th. The deep water-covered streets were undrivable, forcing some parents to pick their children up from school by kayak.
Now that summer is here, there's a different threat looming. June marks the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season. KPLC-TV in Lake Charles reports that the prospect has some people on edge. Local health care workers “are seeing an increase in anxiety-driven hospital visits.” After an unprecedented year of non-stop floods and storms, many are fearing what could be next.
Talking about the impacts natural disasters pose on mental health and individual well-being is timely for another reason. June is also National Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Month - intended to raise public awareness about issues related to PTSD.
According to mental health experts, PTSD is an “anxiety problem that develops in some people after extremely traumatic events, such as combat, crime, an accident or a natural disaster.” For those suffering from PTSD, symptoms can include intrusive flashbacks, appetite changes, and sleepless nights.
The connection between natural disasters and mental health is currently being examined by psychiatrists and scientists. The authors of one study say the increase of climate-driven storms brings a greater likelihood of mental health consequences impacting a larger number of people. The research indicates that in many instances, storms can do “more widespread damage to minds than to bodies.”
In my upcoming book: Taking the Heat: How Climate Change is Affecting Your Mind, Body & Spirit, and What You Can Do About It, scheduled for publication by Simon and Schuster this November, I go into more detail on PTSD and Natural Disasters - including advice from leading experts and new, effective ways to cope.
Note from Bonnie Schneider: I also want to mention that as a former resident of Lake Charles myself, (many years ago I was a meteorologist for KPLC-TV), I’ve long admired the strength and resilience of the people of Louisiana. As for what’s next in the forecast? The 2021 Hurricane Season is projected to be “above average” for the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico. The tropics are already teeming with activity. Make sure you prepare and stay safe.
Bonnie Schneider is a national television meteorologist and author of the book Extreme Weather, published by Macmillan. Her second book, Taking the Heat: How Climate Change is Affecting Your Mind, Body & Spirit, and What You Can Do About It, scheduled for publication by Simon & Schuster in January 2022. Bonnie has over 260k followers on social platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Catastrophic Flooding in NYC, Climate Change & Health
The deadly deluge of flooding rain yesterday in New York City was catastrophic in its scope of impacts. Preliminary storm totals from the remnants of what was once Hurricane Ida, according to the National Weather Service, include a whopping 7.19” in Central Park.
The latter part of August was already an exceptionally rainy period. Less than two weeks earlier another tropical system, Henri, saturated the city with substantial downpours. On August 22nd, between the hours of 10 and 11 pm, 1.94” of rain was observed at Central Park. At the time, Henri shattered the one-hour rainfall rate record. But for New Yorkers, Ida’s wrath proved to be much worse when it hit on the first day of September.
By the time the remnants of the former Category Four Hurricane IDA advanced on New York, its winds were not the primary threat. It was the relentless rain of the storm that prompted the National Weather Service to issue a rare “Flash Flood Emergency” for New York City.
A “Flash Flood Warning” may sound more familiar. It means dangerous flooding is happening now or will be soon. Flash Flood Emergencies are exceedingly rare and are only issued by the National Weather Service when a “severe threat to human life and catastrophic damage from a flash flood is happening or will happen soon.” This was the first Flash Flood Emergency ever issued for New York City.
Last night’s storm was particularly dangerous not just because of how much total rain fell - but also how fast the rate at which the water came. Remarkably, between 8:51 pm to 9:51 pm, Central Park observed 3.15 inches of rain, the greatest amount in a single hour ever observed in the city, since record-keeping began.
This level of rain intensity spells disaster for urban areas, where there is little grass and vegetation to soak floodwaters into the earth. In the case of New York City - more than 70 percent of its landmass is covered by impervious surfaces - from parking lots to streets, sidewalks to rooftops.
The same thick, grey asphalt and concrete - notorious for holding on to the sun’s heat on sticky summer days has the reverse reaction to water. Rather than absorbing the rainwater, it repels it. Preventing the rain from penetrating its hard surfaces. City streets are designed that way. The objective is to direct water off the roads and into drainage systems to keep traffic running smoothly and pedestrians safe.
But the aging infrastructure of New York, combined with an extraordinary amount of rain rapidly falling at record rates, resulted in urban roads turning into treacherous rivers. In New York City, which has the greatest population density of any major city in the U.S.- over 27,000 people per square mile, this extreme weather event was high impact, destructive, and deadly.
While a Flash Flood Emergency in itself is rare, evidence points to climate change bringing more intense rainstorms and super-charged tropical systems in the future. “The number of weather, climate, and water extremes are increasing and will become more frequent and severe in many parts of the world as a result of climate change,” says World Meteorological Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas, in a recent report released in conjunction with the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.
What’s the connection between warmer air and more intense rain? As Climate Signals reports, “for each degree 1°C (1.8°F) of global warming, saturated air contains 7 percent more moisture." The increase in atmospheric moisture content raises the risk of extreme precipitation events.
These climate-related events not only destroy property and disrupt transportation they also can lead to human health threats - some that you may not be aware of.
Anchored in the latest scientific research and filled with relatable first-person stories, my upcoming book, “Taking the Heat: How Climate Change Is Affecting Your Mind, Body, and Spirit and What You Can Do About It,” (Simon & Schuster, January 2022) unlocks the connections between weather, climate change, and health. “Taking the Heat” provides practical tips for you to tackle these challenges in a rapidly changing environment. Available for pre-order now.