Impact of heavy rains of 2018 in western Japan: disaster-induced health outcomes among the population of Innoshima Island
Srinivas Bandaru,
Shunji Sano,
Yurika Shimizu,
Yuka Seki,
Yoshikazu Okano,
Tamaki Sasaki,
Hideho Wada,
Takemi Otsuki,
Tatsuo Ito
Affiliations
Srinivas Bandaru
Department of Public Health, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama, Japan
Shunji Sano
Department of Surgery, Division of Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
Yurika Shimizu
Department of Public Health, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama, Japan; Department of Pathophysiology - Periodontal Science, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama, Japan
Yuka Seki
Department of Public Health, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama, Japan
Yoshikazu Okano
Hitz Hitachi Zosen Health Insurance Association Clinic at Innoshima, Onomichi, Hiroshima, Japan; Innoshima General Hospital, Onomichi, Hiroshima, Japan
Tamaki Sasaki
Department of Nephrology & Hypertension, Kawasaki Medical School, Kurashiki, Okayama, Japan
Hideho Wada
Department of Hematology, Kawasaki Medical School, Kurashiki, Okayama, Japan
Takemi Otsuki
Department of Hygiene, Kawasaki Medical School, Kurashiki, Okayama, Japan
Tatsuo Ito
Department of Public Health, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama, Japan; Department of Surgery, Division of Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA; Corresponding author.
Southwestern Japan suffered its worst rains in 2018 causing floods and mudslides, claiming 225 lives and forcing millions for evacuations. Referred as “Heisei san-jū-nenshichi-gatsugōu”, the disaster was the result of incessant precipitation caused by the interaction of typhoon “Prapiroon” with the seasonal rain front ''Baiu''. The present epidemiological study aims to investigate disaster-induced health issues in 728 residents of Innoshima island in the Hiroshima Prefecture by comparing their clinical data in pre-disaster (2017) and disaster-hit (2018) years which was obtained from annual health screening. Comparison of data showed a significant increase in the urine protein concentration in victims following the disaster. Probing further into the household conditions, showed that a total of 59,844 households were affected with water outage during the heavy rains, which was accompanied by severe damage of sewerage pipelines with complete recovery process taking two weeks. This two weeks of the crisis forced victims to refrain from using restrooms which in turn led to infrequent urination, thereby explaining the increased urine protein concentration in victims following the disaster. The present study addresses the acute health implications caused by the water crisis and serves as a precautionary measure for disaster management council to provide enhanced aftercare services in victims in further events of natural disasters.
