The aftermath of flooding in Clendenin, West Virginia, in June 2016. Ty Wright / Getty Images
As global warming fuels more extreme rainfall in Appalachia, new research finds a link between flooding and opioid deaths.
Across the U.S., the heaviest downpours are becoming more severe, giving rise to more intense floods. The new study, which analyzed flooding and mortality data from counties across Appalachia, found surges in lethal overdoses following severe floods, with the effects persisting for up to a decade. On average, yearly opioid deaths rose by 26 percent in the year or two after a flood, according to the study, which was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
From 2000 to 2017, there were a total of 11,744 opioid overdose deaths across rural Appalachia, said co-lead author Kristina Brant, of Penn State University. “We estimate that severe floods led to 1,368 of those overdose deaths.”
In interviews undertaken as part of the study, health care providers told researchers that people affected by severe floods are vulnerable to using drugs to cope with the loss of their home or their job, or simply the trauma of living through a disaster. At the same time, flooding can make it harder to access treatment for addiction, as prior research has shown.
According to the new study, the spike in opioid deaths was most pronounced among those living in poorer areas and those with no more than a high school education. Said Brant, “it is more vulnerable people and communities that seem to face the largest impacts.”
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