The health, social and economic impacts of major floods are devastating, affecting people’s physical and mental health and disrupting and dispersing communities.

Impacts can range from immediate death, injury and harm from contaminated water, through to lasting psychological consequences caused by damaged homes, loss of personal possessions and financial worries.

In a paper published in CIWEM’s new Journal of Flood Risk Management, the health and social impacts of the 2005 Carlisle floods are considered. Around 6,000 residents from 3,500 homes were affected when 200 mm of rain fell in 48 hours, 60,000 homes were cut off from electrical supplies and three people died.

Sixteen months after the flood, residents still recollect the speed and trauma of floodwater coming through floorboards, seeping through bricks and flowing under doors. They also remembered feelings of panic and indecisiveness, compounded by their inability to contact anyone for advice or assistance. However, while the immediate effects were devastating, the most stressful phase was enduring months of drying out and renovating their homes. This was exacerbated by confusion with insurance personnel, loss adjustors, builders and decorators.

The residents now wish to receive support and practical training from professionals to counsel each other in future floods, ongoing, post-flood information through support centres, as well as an emergency, regulatory body established to oversee renovation periods.

As the human impacts of flooding can be tangible (relating to material losses) and intangible (relating to emotional losses), the authors suggest that intangible social impacts should be included in cost–benefit analyses for flood alleviation schemes.

The authors also recommend establishing strong multi-agency working; training highly skilled support centre personnel with local knowledge of the affected community; encouraging and nurturing peer support; and ensuring sustainable funding that recognises the critical need for striking a balance between long-term support and encouraging dependency.

CIWEM’s journal, supported by Arup, MWH and Royal Haskoning and published in partnership with Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, provides an international platform for knowledge sharing and information dissemination across the range of disciplines where flood related research is carried out. The online-only journal will cover topics such as modelling, infrastructure management, hydrology, flood forecasting, land use management, policy and legislation, as well as uncertainty analysis and risk.