Human-induced climate change has an enormous impact on Pakistan’s socio-economic, communal health, and environment and nearly impacted every section of the community, not only on humankind but, has a deadly effect on an animal kind as well. One-third of the country has been under water, 33 million people have been affected, and 8 million are reportedly displaced. Baluchistan is the most affected province by the inundated flood, my entourage had been in Daira Murad Jamali and Jaal magsi, the aforementioned districts have been highly affected, and lie in central Baluchistan. Unfortunately, Baluchistan is less developed and more impoverished compared to other provinces in Pakistan because of its complex geography and remote communities. Baluchistan claimed the highest casualty rate in the flood. My team had been for philanthropist work, distributing goods, clean water, food, health services, and basic commodities.
In short, the floods have devastated every corner of the community, from transportation to communication, energy, agriculture, water resources, irrigation, commerce, and industry. The hapless people have been waiting, indubitably, for divine succor. The sudden deluge nosedived Pakistan’s so far dying economy, this sort of disaster always has a spill-over effect on the status quo. Baluchistan and Sindh provinces have been the most impacted. Baluchistan has received 5.1 times its 30-year average rainfall as of 27 August, while Sindh’s is 5.7 times its 30-year average. To date, 72 districts across Pakistan have been declared ‘calamity hit’ by the Government of Pakistan. In Baluchistan, 34 districts and at least 360,000 people have been affected, including 238 people who perished and 106 people injured as of 27 August 2022.
The psychological effects of the destruction caused by the deluge are more severe among children, women, and the elderly section of society. It is presently imperative they must receive psycho-social succor. Apparently, it is known that the experience of surviving a flooding catastrophe can affect people after the event and occasionally for many years down the line. Indeed, the flood water might have been ephemeral, but the effects it caused would be long-lasting and would undoubtedly disturb the already feeble community. It is essential to mention that the flood water not only deprived the people of their physical
health but also their mental health, weakening their will to survive this mighty catastrophe. We could not decipher the inadequate condition of health, livelihood, and property in the affected regions.
Apprehension, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD, psychosis, and sleeplessness are some of the ordinary mental health issues that come up in the aftermath of a deluge disaster. Moreover, As the flood water lessens, they are revealing the sheer scale of the widespread damage. Hundreds of thousands of houses have been ruined or destroyed, including public health facilities, schools, and water systems. Families are living out in the open air with no drinking water, no meals, and nearly no livelihood, uncovered to a broad range of new flood-related risks and hazards, including destroyed buildings and drowning in still-standing waters.
I could not go to the affected areas, but I could understand humanity, could not help them physically, helped them financially, but strived hard to write about the unfathomable condition of mental and physical health and need to tell people how people strived to serve a single meal and medicine. There have been myriads of horrific stories of deluge affectees, people lost their loved ones, some saw them being swept away by the intolerant waters, and people were compelled to make unexpected decisions such as whether to save their animals- which could feed their children or to save their drowning children. Such sort of untoward decisions comes out to be trauma-inducing for anyone.
The natural calamity, such as floods spur a plethora of mental stresses and dissatisfaction in life, significantly, it might not have been experienced during migration, but their squalid living conditions at relief camps also impose significant mental distress. The grave loss of kith and kin, property, agriculture, pain, disruption, and violence have a gross negative effect on people, particularly on children and women, which unexpectedly become first-among-equal. Sooner or later, such experiences make the human being vulnerable to producing a chemical imbalance in the body, which eventually leads to psychological changes for instance: anxiety, distress, trauma, and other significant psychological diseases. Undoubtedly, most people could manage complicated experiences and may become more resilient if supportive family and community circumstances are available.
This is usually referred to as psychosocial aid. In a collectivist community like Pakistan’s, one of the immense sources of misery in such misfortune is the dismantling of this psychosocial support. We, as a society, must work for the well-being of deserving people, providing them with mental support, must shun away the traditional stigma of not treating people with mental distress, anxiety, and depression- which now become chatter of the town in the vulnerable regions. It is essential to note down, our community, particularly does not have a certain knowledge about the common mental diseases, ostensibly, these chronic diseases are well-known as silent killers. Subsequently, the aforementioned ghostly diseases spur humans’ chemical imbalance which inadvertently leads you toward frustration, anger issues, and then so on. Last but not least: it affects the collective community.
List of different diseases and how flooding spurs diseases
Flooding has a direct as well as indirect impact on the overall community, first and foremost, malnutrition and undernutrition are rarely considered but significantly could be caused by flood disasters. It is absolutely clear that still-standing water destroys the standing crops as well as the stocks, which directly impacted the community and caused food security, resultantly caused malnutrition, moreover, food security leads to mental health problems. The contaminated water could affect the community, spurring stomach diseases, water-borne diseases, diarrhea, cholera, typhoid fever, and leptospirosis.
It can also occasionally be vector-borne illnesses, which come from a medium species harboring the infection pathogen like a mosquito. Vector-borne illnesses that come about from flooding include malaria and dengue fever. Flooding boosts the chance of these infections and possible outbreaks in residents because it can cause sewage surges, as well as, damage to water supply and sanitation facilities. Contamination of drinking water can lead to typhoid fever, hepatitis A, and cholera. The internally displaced people and ultimately overburden in evacuation centers could bring about other difficulties for instance: pulmonary and systemic fungal diseases from molds.
The transmission of different sorts of viruses and infections during the flood is common, some of them which have been commonly reviewed by medical experts are the following: Hepatitis E and A, vector-borne diseases, water-borne infections, diarrheal diseases, yellow fever, west Nile fever and most commonly Dengue fever. Floods indubitably increase the transmission of aforementioned diseases due to the exposure of distinguished people in common camps. Diseases that could possibly be born with flooding and would be transmitted through people-to-people contact.
• Respiratory infections.
• Gastrointestinal infections.
• Mosquito-borne diseases.
• Rodent-borne diseases.
• chikungunya virus
• Hantaan virus
• Puumala virus
• Dobrava virus
• Nairoviruses
• respiratory syncytial virus
• influenza viruses
• adenoviruses
Skin diseases caused by extreme flooding and weather conditions:
The accumulation of Greenhouse gases and the dynamic climate change spurs global health issues. Unfortunately, Pakistan has always been prone to distinguish untoward changes. Hydrometeorological occurrences are the most typical and detrimental natural disasters. To conclude, Flooding is one of the most typical natural catastrophes, posing a general threat to public health systems. During and after a flood disaster, traumatic injuries, chemical exposures, communicable diseases, skin diseases & infections, malnutrition, and cognitive health disturbances dramatically expand, while access to sustenance is restricted.
The following diseases are caused by flooding:
• Traumatic wounds
• Infectious dermatoses
• Bacterial infections
• Fungal infections
• Cutaneous inflammatory processes
• Irritant contact dermatitis
• Immersion foot syndrome
• Pernio
• Skin cancer
• Atopic dermatitis
• Behavioral influences
• Psychodermatology
Psychodermatology: It deals with the integration of two distinguished disciplines: Mind and skin. The common notion about Psychiatry is that mostly deals with non-visible diseases, such as depression, anxiety, and other common mental diseases, in contrast, dermatology deals with visible diseases. Indeed, both disciplines are concomitant in nature seldomly. In our society, the poor class, especially, have been ignorant in terms of hygiene and a clean environment, people do not likely to perform hygienic work, particularly, it then becomes the major cause of different infections and diseases. Furthermore, it is medically proven that in dermatology patients, skin condition involves consideration of associated psychologic factors. Undoubtedly, it may lead to psychiatric comorbidity.
Conclusion:
Whoever is charitable to the impoverished lends to God, and he will reimburse him for his deed. Particularly it is our first and foremost responsibility to help the most deserving section of society, flood affectees have been deprived of each and everything, they must not be ignored, must be honored, and should aid them. It behooves us to provide every facility, whether, financially, medically, or other. Despite people having been helping them with financial support but the fact is they must be treated collectively, physical health and mental should be the first and foremost criteria for every person.
References:
https://reliefweb.int/report/pakistan/pakistan-2022-floods-response-plan-01-sep-2022-28-feb-2023-issued-30-aug-2022
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/diseases-explode-after-extreme-flooding-and-other-climate-disasters/
https://www.lung.org/clean-air/emergencies-and-natural-disasters/floods-and-water-damage
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2374770/floods-leave-victims-at-risk-of-diseases
https://www.dawn.com/news/1711732
