Summary: Health Impacts of Extreme Weather

Hurricanes and other extreme weather events can take a serious toll on children’s health and well-being as a result of displacement from their homes, exposure to contaminated water, emotional distress, and missed schooling.  

Hurricane Harvey, which struck Texas and Louisiana in 2017, is one of the most destructive storms in history. Harvey made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane near Corpus Christi. The region experienced massive flooding caused by an unprecedented 33 trillion gallons of rain. More than 200,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, and over 34,000 people took refuge in shelters.

In addition, there were concerns about water safety and quality after the local water supply was contaminated by wastewater and toxic substances from flooded Superfund sites. Parents reported worsening overall health for their children 6-9 months after the hurricane, especially in communities that experienced flooding.

Over 1 million children were not able to start school on time after Harvey. Even after schools were able to open, many operated in basic recovery mode for most of the school year. Both students and teachers were traumatized, and school counselors reported elevated suicidal ideation among students.

More than half of children exposed to a damaging hurricane show signs of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), disruptive behavior, and other symptoms of psychological disturbance in the months immediately following the storm. But emotional impacts may persist for years. One study found that serious emotional distress persisted in children for more than 2 years after exposure to Hurricane Katrina, especially for children who lost a loved one or were exposed to serious adversities such as lack of food, shelter, and clothing.

These examples demonstrate some of the ways in which children’s health and well-being are particularly affected by exposure to natural disasters, both immediately and over the long term.