The recent flooding in the UK, Bangladesh, India, Korea, Indonesia, and now Africa has displaced quite a number of people, damaged a lot of public and private properties, destroyed agricultural crops and livestocks, and crippled the economy of countries.

But the news of these obvious destructions and the lost in human life are not the only effects that we should worry about from flooding of this magnitude. It is what happens after the water subsides that we really begin to feel that what happened was a disaster. The outbreak of diseases are of great concerns when floods occur especially in hot countries were illnesses easily spreads.

During floods, one of the most likely disease to strike first is cholera. By relocating huge numbers of people and cramming them in small confined areas, sanitation would certainly become a problem. The water and food supplies would become contaminated and people would likely develop infection of the gut causing chronic diarrhea and vomiting, both symptoms of cholera.

Frequent diarrhea and vomiting would then cause severe dehydration that can lead to a lot of things, the worst case being death. and, in extreme cases, death.

A partner of cholera is dysentery which is caused by parasites also from contaminated food and water. Nausea, loose bowel movement, weight loss, and occasional fever are the general symptoms of dysentery. Each one is potentially dangerous in itself, thus combining the two is really deadly.

The treatment of cholera and dysentery are through antibiotics but since drugs don’t work that fast because of the resilience of the disease. Therefore, in cases where flood victims are diagnosed with cholera and dysentery, immediate rehydration would be the best approach to save their lives. But of course, improving sanitation in the evacuation areas and making sure that the water and food supplies are clean are the best ways to avoid a epidemic to occur.

Airborne disease are the next wave of disease that would most likely hit your relocation areas once the floodwaters go down. Stagnant floodwaters, and the marshes created by the flood are perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes and other insects.

Malaria and dengue fever are highly possible. Some of the symptoms of Malaria include high fever and chills. The disease can be treated but when left alone can easily lead to death. Mostly infants, children, and pregnant women are affected by Malaria and dengue fever.

Malaria, dengue fever, cholera and dysentery are but a few of the disease that can easily rise from flooding situations. There are more waterborne and vector borne diseases out there, some unique in certain countries while others don’t choose victims, bu all are potentially dangerous and can easily increase the plight of already suffering victims.

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The recent flooding in the UK left a lot of homes and properties damaged. But some residents are finding it difficult to move on with their lives especially with the issue of insurance renewals hanging over their heads.

A particular news item brought this issue to my attention. Apparently, a couple in Worcester got their homes flooded when River Severn overflew. The couple’s living room and downstairs bathroom were overwhelmed by flood waters late last month. Now the couple was scheduled to renew their policy a week after their home got flooded.

It was not surprising that the insurance company would be increasing its excess but the couple was quite shocked to hear from the insurance company that their home insurance grew from £50 to £10,000 due to the floods. Moreover, the renewal contract states their home will not be covered unless they set up temporary flood barriers. Fortunately for the couple, and probably with the help of the story being publicized and broadcasted in popular media, the insurance company took a second look at their policy and decided to reduce the amount to £1,000.

A good home insurance can help you stand up on your own feet again even after experiencing such natural tragedies like floods. When it comes to insurance policies, there are only two kinds of insurance that can cover the losses and damages due to floods. First is the homeowners’ insurance policy and the second is the flood insurance policy. Each one can back the other when it comes to covering losses and damages. If it is not covered by your homeowners’ insurance, it should be covered by your flood insurance and vice versa.

The coverage of flood insurance policies depend on the policy limit. However, insurance policies distinguish flood damage from any other water damage by adhering to a strict definition of floods. Insurance companies define floods as the “rising and overflowing of a body of water into normally dry land.” They give emphasis to the word “rising”and use it as a major element to determine if a particular home was damaged by flood waters or not. Also, another prerequisite is that flood damage should not be isolated to your house but also have affected  the nearby houses as well.

Insurance policies include in their floods list the various river overflows, seeping of surface water caused by heavy rain into basements or ground floor areas, and mud slides caused by heavy rains or flash floods.

Meanwhile, a homeowners insurance policy does not insure your homes from damages caused by flooding. It does, however, cover damages caused by other water related incidents. Such incidents include hailstorms breaking windows allowing hail and rain to enter the house causing considerable damage to the house’s fixtures, water damage from rain soaking through the roof, and damage from broken water pipes causing water damage to your home.

Please note that flood insurance does not replace your homeowners insurance policy. It is there to complement your existing homeowners insurance

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The collaboration of inter agencies, in particular the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in the US, Georgia Institute of Technology, and the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC), have resulted into developing a new system of forecasting floods. By combining elements of weather forecasts, satellite observations, river gauges, and hydrologic modeling techniques, the system can predict when major rivers would start to swell providing relatively advanced warnings for people that would likely be affected by the rising waters.

The forecasting system has been operational for the past few years. The scientists at the NCAR have been providing flood forecasts to countries that really need them. Bangladesh, for example has been receiving flood forecasts since 2003.

But it was only recently that flood forecasts in Bangladesh made major progress. The forecasts were properly utilized thanks to the efforts of local volunteers, government personnel, and non government organizations  who disseminated the information on the community level. Thus, the forecasts from the NCAR finally were able to reach the target communities allowing proper actions to be taken.

Previous flood warnings in Bangladesh come within 48 to 72  hours before floodwaters begin to put most of the region under floodwater. Today, the ADPC through the help of satellite imaging and advance weather forecasting from NCAR and other related agencies are able to issue 10-day flood forecasts. This gives the million residents of Bangladesh ample time to leave their homes and relocate to higher grounds.

This also gives support groups and local organizations to come up with the sufficient supply of food and water that would be needed once the actual floods come in and relocations areas become full with affected residents.

The cornerstone of the flood forecasting system is the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) of NASA. Since its establishment in 1959, the center was vital in space and Earth science studies.

With the help of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center, the GSFC is able to create satellite images and set them against weather forecasts. Part of their resource also include weather predictions for South Asia  the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.

Also vital in the flood forecasting system are tools both on the ground and on the base of operations. Tools like measures the water levels, radar network, equipment that measures amount of rainfall, and the computer hardware and software that plots possible speed and direction of flood or river waters.

The information gathered by the whole system is updated regularly with emphasis given to fresh information both from the grounds and satellite data imaging. This ensure that forecasts remain factual and as accurate as possible.

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