The Health Problem
Sewage overflows can create an obvious health risk, but flooding in general carries a significant health and safety risk.

•  Since 1999, 20 people have died as a direct result of flooding in England and Wales .

•  Traditional combined sewers are bad news for all kinds of wildlife, except brown rats. There are millions of them in Britain , and when there is a flood they abandon the sewers and come to the surface. Leptospirosis or "Weil's disease", spread by rats' urine, is rare in the developed world, but in 1981, there were 72 cases in Britain , with seven of them fatal.

•  Escherichia coli ("E-coli") is also a danger. In May 2000, the small town of Walkerton in Southern Ontario had a serious outbreak of E-coli. Their drinking water system became contaminated with these deadly bacteria, which had been washed into a well from farmland spread with manure. Seven people died, and more than 2,300 became ill. The community was devastated. There were widespread feelings of frustration, anger, and insecurity.

•  In 2002, there were several outbreaks of cryptosporidium in the water supply in Scotland caused directly by heavy rainfall washing sheep droppings from fields into watercourses used for water supplies. Normal water treatment processes do not kill these bacteria. If there are more frequent severe rainfall events, such outbreaks may become more common unless sheep and wildlife are kept away from water catchments, or drinking water treatment is improved.

•  There are long term health risks from the mould that can grow on the walls of buildings that have been flooded, especially if the property is not thoroughly cleaned and dried out. In countries where flood insurance is not widely available to clean up the property, toxic mould can be left to grow, leading to widespread problems as the spores can cause serious respiratory problems. Sometimes the only solution is demolition. Some insurers think that toxic mould is a peculiarly USA problem, and certainly there are some major law suits being pursued in the USA . However there is no reason, with a warming climate, why toxic mould cannot become a big problem in Britain as well.

•  There are also long term health risks from asbestos, which is quite common in older houses, for example in textured ceilings and flues. This needs specialist removal.

•  Removal of floodwater incorrectly can spread bacteria around the house, especially if the water is contaminated with sewage.

•  Injury or death can result from walking in even quite shallow floodwaters if they are fast flowing, for example people can be knocked off their feet, or fall into manholes where the covers have disappeared. Flood induced landslip can engulf houses and roads. Six inches of fast flowing water will knock you off your feet and two feet of water will float your car.

•  In addition to physical health problems, there are also problems from the trauma of suffering flood damage. The Samaritans have thousands of volunteers all over the country and their training in dealing with people who are in despair is second to none. They will usually have teams on site very quickly to be there for distressed flood victims but their immensely valuable contribution is rarely recognised. In Scotland , at the author's suggestion, SEPA's flood warning documentation includes a section on the value of talking to The Samaritans. Research has shown that flood can be so traumatic that flood victims can be put into a state of fear every time there is heavy rainfall, and three months after the Boscastle event in August 2004, residents were still having nightmares.

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