Parade of Cyclones To Hit California This Week, State of Emergency Declared: 5 Severe Health Impacts Caused By Cyclone
A State of Emergency has been declared in California, a western U.S. state after experts predicted that a series of cyclones is slated to hit California later this week. The cyclones are predicted after storms and extreme weather conditions in the northern part of the state that killed 12 people a few days ago. According to the reports, turbulent weather hit California on Sunday after massive thunderstorms, snow and winds swept into its northern part. Taking cognizance of the deteriorating weather conditions in the state, the experts predicted that in the next couple of days, California will be hit by a 'parade of cyclones' which can be devastating in nature.
In the last 10 days, California has seen a total of 12 deaths due to torrential downpours and damaging winds. The sudden change in the weather has also led to power outrage in the state that crippled thousands of homes and businesses. National Weather Service (NWS), USA's weather forecast agency has also warned that the northern region and the central part of California will face the worst of the relentless parade of cyclones within 7 days. "These storms are supercharged by climate change," California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot told a news conference.
So how do these cyclones affect the human body? According to experts, the effect can be of various degrees.
The global health body -- World Health Organization (WHO) categorizes cyclones or any kind of natural hazard as an "indirect impact". What does that mean? It refers to the loss of life, shelter and livelihoods -- all these can have both short- and long-term mental health effects.
Without any doubt -- cyclones can disrupt food supplies in the areas it is affecting. Therefore, one must store a good amount of basic foods when there is a cyclone alert in the area they are living.
Contaminated water when consumed can lead to severe health conditions such as -- diarrhoea, dysentery and other water-borne diseases like cholera and typhoid fever. This mainly happens due to the mixing of the flood water which mostly contains faeces, silt and debris with the drinking water.
People residing in areas that are hit by a cyclone or a storm are at higher risk of suffering from communicable and infectious diseases. Some of the most common among others are -- bacillary dysentery and infectious diarrhoea. This happens mainly because of water-logging after cyclones that can lead to outbreaks of vector-borne diseases like malaria, dengue, chikungunya, etc in the affected areas.
People residing in cyclone-hit areas are also prone to suffer from non-communicable diseases. This is mainly because a cyclone or natural disaster can disrupt public health services, which can lead to exacerbated illness and even death due to severe health complications such as cancer, hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, etc.
