Flooding poses health risks; raises environmental concerns

Flooding along the Mississippi River and its tributaries poses health risks, state and local health officials said Wednesday.

It also has focused attention on the need to create more wetlands to naturally absorb floodwaters and reduce the effect on communities up and down the river, environmentalists said.

Floodwaters may contain raw sewage and pose other risks, including infectious diseases, hazardous-chemical exposure and debris that can cause injuries, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services warned in a news release.

Direct contact with floodwater can cause skin rashes, infect wounds and cause stomach illnesses, the agency said.

Downed or broken power lines in floodwater pose an electrocution hazard.

Floodwaters surrounds the Worthington Hunting Club building Wednesday near Olive Branch, Illinois.Andrew J. Whitaker

Insects, snakes and other reptiles that have been displaced by the flooding may be submerged or hiding in debris in or near floodwaters, the department said.

Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services director Randall Williams said in a news release, "We know from experience that the major danger of flooding occurs after the storm passes and people drive or wade into moving or standing water."

He added, "It is vital that people realize how risky these waters still are."

The state health department said parents should warn children not to play in or near floodwater. Soaked creek and stream banks may be unstable and give way, the agency said.

Flooded storm drains or culverts can create powerful currents that can sweep people away, the department said.

The same risks apply to those involved in cleanup and recovery efforts, the agency said.

Anyone assisting with flood cleanup should obtain a tetanus shot if they have not had one within the past 10 years, the department said.

Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center director Jane Wernsman said the center will provide the tetanus vaccine to those in need.

So far, there have been no reports of health issues in the county as a result of the flooding, she said.

The severity of flooding along Missouri's rivers and streams shows the need for wetlands, said Heather Navarro, executive director of the St. Louis-based Missouri Coalition for the Environment.

She said climate change has added to the problem.

Climate change is amplifying rainfall across all storm types, according to the environmental website climatesignals.org. A warmer atmosphere holds more water, the website said.

Navarro echoed that view.

"We are definitely seeing more water," she said.

But the other factor is the decreased wetlands along the Mississippi River and its tributaries, she said.

She said 80 percent of the wetlands and natural flood plains have become home to developments or sold as farmland, according to Navarro.

Meanwhile, levees along the rivers have increased the speed and depth of floodwaters, she said.

"We are pushing water onto other areas," Navarro said.

Missouri's rivers are "floodplain rivers," she said. Providing more wetlands along the Mississippi River and its tributaries would "naturally absorb floodwaters and naturally filter pollution," Navarro said.

"We need to give the river some room," she said.

Society, she said, needs to scrap "the idea that we can develop floodplains and bail everybody out when our strip malls flood."

In Missouri, counties and cities control development in floodplains, Navarro said. There are federal regulations, but local governments decide on whether to approve developments, she said.

In the upper Mississippi River basin, only Missouri has no state regulations governing floodplain development, Navarro said.

Besides Missouri, the region includes Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois.

"We keep rebuilding in floodplains, and it is just not sustainable," she said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641