Helene-ravaged areas will feel health effects for years: ‘It’s unprecedented’

Hurricane Helene unleashed record rainfall in parts of Florida , Georgia , North and South Carolina , and Tennessee , setting up the affected regions to face years of health challenges.

Some of the effects, like the flooded manufacturing plant that produces 60% of the nation’s IV supply, will reverberate throughout the entire country.

In a crisis like this, “you can’t separate yourself from people”, which raises risks for infectious disease, one resident says.

“Hurricanes and tropical storms are a far greater public health concern than anyone previously thought, researchers say.

Everyone responding to the crisis has been doing heroic work’, said Young . We don’t want those efforts to be in vain, and we cant forget about these communities’ State and local governments may also be strapped for cash after rebuilding, which means they’re not able to invest as much in public health and health infrastructure.

Stress can lead to heart attacks and other long-term health issues.

“The people of western North Carolina are resilient, and we’ve been hanging on these mountains like fleas on a dog’s back for over 200 years ,” McNeely said. “If you think a little flood is going to keep us from rebuilding this community, then you don’t know much about the community.”.