Flesh-eating bacteria, cancer-causing chemicals, and mold: Harvey and Irma's lingering health threat
In the weeks following Hurricane Irma, parts of Florida have been awash in millions of gallons of sewage. Meanwhile, in Texas, oil refineries and chemical plants have dumped a years worth of cancer-causing pollutants into the air following Hurricane Harvey. In both states, doctors are on the lookout for an uptick in respiratory problems, skin infections, and mosquito-borne diseases brought on by the water and mold the storms left behind.
Thanks in part to better emergency planning and response, the immediate death tolls from Harvey and Irma seem to be far lower than those of Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, which took some 1,400 and 117 lives in the US respectively. So far, a total of 80 deaths have been reported in Texas after Harvey, and there have been at least 42 deaths in Florida as a result of Irma.
But health officials are warning about the much longer-term health fallout from this years hurricane season. Americas Gulf Coast region perennially records some of the worst health outcomes in the US and theyll almost surely be aggravated by the storms that recently slammed the southern states. (Thats not to mention the hurricanes hefty price tag, which could total nearly $200 billion.)
Here are some of the most severe and worrying health problems that may linger in the southern US, long after the 2017 hurricane season.
https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/9/19/16325044/hurricane-2017-health-risks-irma-harvey-pollution-mold-mosquitoes-depression