Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Impact of Hurricanes on Mental Health

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Extreme Weather Events and Human Health

Abstract

Hurricanes are among the leading natural disasters in the USA and are associated with significant psychological distress and mental disorders. Hence, understanding the mechanism underlying the development of mental health problems during a hurricane is critical. This chapter highlights the main factors that increase the risk for hurricane-related mental health problems. Common mental disorders and popular screening instruments that are available for rapid mental health assessment of a population affected by a hurricane are described. The chapter also emphasizes the importance of disaster mental health management and surveillance during the entire disaster management cycle.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 139.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 179.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Akpinar-Elci, M., Rose, S., & Kekeh, M. (2018). Well-being and mental health impact of household flooding in Guyana, the Caribbean. Marine Technology Society Journal, 52(2).

    Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bagalman, E., & Napili, A. (2018). Prevalence of mental illness in the United States: Data sources and estimates. Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress. Retrieved from https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43047.pdf.

  • Ballard, E. D., Van Eck, K., Musci, R. J., Hart, S. R., Storr, C. L., Breslau, N., et al. (2015). Latent classes of childhood trauma exposure predict the development of behavioral health outcomes in adolescence and young adulthood. Psychological Medicine, 45(15), 3305–3316.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Batterham, P. J., Sunderland, M., Carragher, N., Calear, A. L., Mackinnon, A. J., & Slade, T. (2016). The Distress Questionnaire-5: Population screener for psychological distress was more accurate than the K6/K10. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 71, 35–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boscarino, J. A., Hoffman, S. N., Adams, R. E., Figley, C. R., & Solhkhah, R. (2017). Mental health outcomes among vulnerable residents after Hurricane Sandy: Implications for disaster research and planning. American Journal of Disaster Medicine, 9(2), 97–106.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caramanica, K., Brackbill, R. M., Stellman, S. D., & Farfel, M. R. (2015). Posttraumatic stress disorder after Hurricane Sandy among persons exposed to the 9/11 disaster. International Journal of Emergency Mental Health, 17(1), 356.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2006). Health hazard evaluation of police officers and firefighters after Hurricane Katrina–New Orleans, Louisiana, October 17–28 and November 30–December 5, 2005. MMWR: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 55(16), 456-458.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fergusson, D. M., Horwood, L. J., Boden, J. M., & Mulder, R. T. (2014). Impact of a major disaster on the mental health of a well-studied cohort. JAMA Psychiatry, 71(9), 1025–1031.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foa, E. B., Stein, D. J., & McFarlane, A. C. (2006). Symptomatology and psychopathology of mental health problems after disaster. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 67(Suppl 2), 15–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Galea, S., Brewin, C. R., Gruber, M., Jones, R. T., King, D. W., King, L. A., et al. (2007). Exposure to hurricane-related stressors and mental illness after Hurricane Katrina. Archives of General Psychiatry, 64(12), 1427–1434.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gruebner, O., Lowe, S. R., Sampson, L., & Galea, S. (2015). The geography of post-disaster mental health: Spatial patterning of psychological vulnerability and resilience factors in New York City after Hurricane Sandy. International Journal of Health Geographics, 14(1), 16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heid, A. R., Pruchno, R., Cartwright, F. P., & Wilson-Genderson, M. (2017). Exposure to Hurricane Sandy, neighborhood collective efficacy, and post-traumatic stress symptoms in older adults. Aging & Mental Health, 21(7), 742–750.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hill, A. B. (2015). The environment and disease: Association or causation? Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 108(1), 32–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jansen, K., Cardoso, T. A., Fries, G. R., Branco, J. C., Silva, R. A., Kauer-Sant’Anna, M., et al. (2016). Childhood trauma, family history, and their association with mood disorders in early adulthood. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 134(4), 281–286.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kessler, R. C., Barker, P. R., Colpe, L. J., Epstein, J. F., Gfroerer, J. C., Hiripi, E. et al. (2003). Screening for serious mental illness in the general population. Archives of General Psychiatry, 60(2), 184–189.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lowe, S. R., Sampson, L., Gruebner, O., & Galea, S. (2015). Psychological resilience after Hurricane Sandy: The influence of individual-and community-level factors on mental health after a large-scale natural disaster. PLoS ONE, 10(5), e0125761.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Malilay, J., Heumann, M., Perrotta, D., Wolkin, A. F., Schnall, A. H., Podgornik, M. N., et al. (2014). The role of applied epidemiology methods in the disaster management cycle. American Journal of Public Health, 104(11), 2092–2102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Merikangas, K. R., He, J. P., Burstein, M., Swanson, S. A., Avenevoli, S., Cui, L., et al. (2010). Lifetime prevalence of mental disorders in US adolescents: Results from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication–Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A). Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 49(10), 980–989.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2017). Extremely active 2017 Atlantic hurricane season finally ends. Retrieved from http://www.noaa.gov/media-release/extremely-active-2017-atlantic-hurricane-season-finally-ends.

  • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2018). U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather & Climate Disasters 1980–2018. Retrieved from https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/billions/events.pdf.

  • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (n.d.). Hurricane Preparedness—Hazards. Retrieved from https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/prepare/hazards.php.

  • NOAA. (2014). What is my chance of being struck by a tropical storm or hurricane? Retrieved from http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/G11.html.

  • North, C. S., & Pfefferbaum, B. (2013). Mental health response to community disasters: A systematic review. JAMA, 310(5), 507–518.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olayinka, O. O., Bayleyegn, T. M., Noe, R. S., Lewis, L. S., Arrisi, V., & Wolkin, A. F. (2017). Evaluation of real-time mortality surveillance based on media reports. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, 11(4), 460–466.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pietrzak, R. H., Southwick, S. M., Tracy, M., Galea, S., & Norris, F. H. (2012a). Posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and perceived needs for psychological care in older persons affected by Hurricane Ike. Journal of Affective Disorders, 138(1), 96–103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pietrzak, R. H., Tracy, M., Galea, S., Kilpatrick, D. G., Ruggiero, K. J., Hamblen, J. L., et al. (2012b). Resilience in the face of disaster: Prevalence and longitudinal course of mental disorders following hurricane Ike. PLoS One, 7(6), e38964.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rhodes, J., Chan, C., Paxson, C., Rouse, C. E., Waters, M., & Fussell, E. (2010). The impact of Hurricane Katrina on the mental and physical health of low-income parents in New Orleans. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 80(2), 237–247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Romens, S. E., McDonald, J., Svaren, J., & Pollak, S. D. (2015). Associations between early life stress and gene methylation in children. Child Development, 86(1), 303–309.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shah, A. A., Valles, N., Banu, S., Storch, E. A., & Goodman, W. (2017). Meeting the mental health needs of Hurricane Harvey evacuees. American Journal of Psychiatry, 175(1), 13–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shultz, J. M., & Galea, S. (2017). Mitigating the mental and physical health consequences of Hurricane Harvey. JAMA, 318(15), 1437–1438.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stolk, Y., Kaplan, I., & Szwarc, J. (2014). Clinical use of the Kessler psychological distress scales with culturally diverse groups. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 23(2), 161–183.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, H. T., Ward, B., Willis, M., & Zaleski, W. (2012). The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Available from http://origin.www.nhc.noaa.gov/pdf/sshws.pdf.

  • United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. (2017). Terminology. Retrieved from https://www.unisdr.org/we/inform/terminology#letter-h.

  • World Health Organization. (2002). Environmental health in emergencies and disasters: a practical guide. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/hygiene/emergencies/em2002intro.pdf.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Interfaith Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY, 11213, USA

    Olaniyi Olayinka

  2. School of Community & Environmental Health, College of Health Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, 23529, USA

    Muge Akpinar-Elci

Authors
  1. Olaniyi Olayinka
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Muge Akpinar-Elci
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Olaniyi Olayinka .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. International Institute of Health Management Research (IIHMR) Delhi, New Delhi, India

    Rais Akhtar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Olayinka, O., Akpinar-Elci, M. (2020). Impact of Hurricanes on Mental Health. In: Akhtar, R. (eds) Extreme Weather Events and Human Health. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23773-8_7

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation