The unprecedented floods in New South Wales and Queensland in 2022 caused 23 deaths, large-scale community devastation, and disrupted health and other services and facilities. Deaths from drowning, injuries, poisonings and infections are typically the immediate health impacts of floods. However, these direct impacts are only the tip of the health iceberg. Flood鈥恆ffected communities in Australia and other parts of the world have experienced long鈥恖asting mental health effects, such as depression, anxiety and post鈥恡raumatic stress disorder.

The HEAL Global Research Centre, in collaboration with the Mental Health Policy Unit and the Wellbeing and Resilience Unit, aim to strengthen resilience to floods, droughts, heatwaves, bushfires, and other climate disasters through proactive climate change adaptation in the health sector, and improved planning in the built and natural environment.

Project team: Sotiris Vardoulakis, Luis Salvador-Carulla, Jacki Schirmer and Ro McFarlane

Vardoulakis S., Matthews V., Bailie R., Hu W., Salvador-Carulla L., Barratt A., Chu C., 2022. Building resilience to Australian flood disasters in the face of climate change. Medical Journal of Australia 217 (7), 342-345. DOI:10.5694/mja2.51595