While the 2024 hurricane has not yet commenced, Florida is experiencing the effects of the recent hurricanes and emerging health and safety questions that come with them. The people of the state are confronted with a number of issues including but not limited to water pollution and safety, preventing childhood injury, and mental health. This paper seeks to examine the emergent health needs that result from a post-hurricane situation and ways residents can protect themselves in that fragile state.
Water Contamination and Health Risks
Another major cause to worry when it comes to heath after a hurricane is the issue of water Qualtity. Flooding is a common occurrence during hurricanes and, while it causes water pollution by eradicating bacteria, viruses, and other chemicals it compromises the quality of drinking water. Examples of waterborne diseases include gastrointestinal illness, skin reactions, and some serious ones such as leptospirosis and cholera of which CDC explains that exposure to contaminated water can lead to these diseases.
Instead, health officials provide residents with tips to evict themselves from the floodwaters whenever possible. In case interaction is inevitable, protective personal gear and good hand washing are some of the measures necessary to adhere to. It is also important to boil water before drinking or, if you purchase water from a store, to use safe water to minimize cases of water borne diseases.
Injury Prevention During Cleanup
Emerging disasters, especially hurricanes, result in extensive devastation requiring cleanup exercises with inherent risks to the persons involved. Some of the common accidents that occur during this period are injuries with sharp object puncture wounds, bruises and cuts from fragments of the debris. Serious cases may include such as fall from a ladder or roof, and electrical injuries more especially in cases where power and electricity poles have fallen off.
OSHA is an organization that aims at ensuring that there are no work related injuries and here are some OSHA guidelines to various injuries. Some of the measures to follow and avoid the unfortunate incidents include always wearing the right PPE including gloves, boots, helmets at the workplace, as well as ensuring that all electrical work is done by a competent person. In addition, because debris could be sharp, while using tools or handling objects that came from the debris, residents should exercise caution since they can easily get injured or even cause an accident if they operate heavy machinery in the process.
Mental Health Impacts
There is also the effect of hurricanes on the psychological wellbeing of people who are affected by such disasters: they suffer from anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Those who have pre-existing mental health disorders can worsen their condition due to the instability and confusion that hurricanes bring, in addition to inheriting the loss of items and people.
Crisis situations also arise at these times and mental health professionals encourage people to seek help at such moments. Treatments within the airline such as its counselling services and self-help groups can prove useful. Thus, planning one’s day and calling a friend or family member, as well as doing activities that have positive effects on stress levels such as exercising or meditating can also prevent or lessen the psychological effects of hurricanes.
Preparedness and Safety Measures
It is necessary to prevent health and safety hazards as much as possible to avoid the occurrence of the disasters during the hurricane season.
- Emergency Kits:The basic emergency supplies should incorporate items like foods with a long shelf life, water, prescriptions drugs, and first aid items. Ensure that faithful kits are placed readily and within the family’s reach and they should be able to last for not less than 72 hours.
- Evacuation Plans:Education and rehearsal of evacuation procedures should be conducted. Be familiar with the escape plans and have a predetermined place where to go, it can be a shelter or the house or apartment of a relative in the other area less risky than the building.
- Communication Plans:It is imperative to develop a communication structure with the family members to help all of them understand how to reach one another and what channels to use during and after the hurricane. This is in the context of having emergency contacts and ways to receive emergency messages.
