Description:

The economic impacts of hydrologic extremes (such as droughts or floods) are extensive and difficult to capture, however products such as the NCEI Billion dollar disasters report and map have greatly improved our ability to assess these damages and to help society appreciate the magnitude of these impacts by putting a dollar value on them. The human health impacts of hydrologic extremes are also extensive and difficult to capture, and we know that health maintenance is essential to a thriving society, yet there is no commensurate systemic assessment of the health impacts of hydrologic extremes. In this session, speakers should examine the myriad health impacts of these extremes--primarily droughts and floods--and examine what this means at a personal level. From this session, we hope to inspire a community effort to work toward understanding the health disaster of hydrologic extremes. One guiding question, to consider is: how do different groups communicate and manage public health risks related to flood and drought? This session will also put a human face on hydrologic extremes by also inviting practitioners to speak to their lived experiences in coping with recent disasters.