Disease and Injury Trends following Heavy Rains in Western Japan in 2018

Torrential rains occurred in Okayama in western Japan in July 2018, forcing local residents to evacuate. Few studies have reported early-phase disease and injury trends among patients following torrential rains. Thus, in this study, we assessed the illness and injury trends among patients who visited temporary medical facilities located in the areas affected by the 2018 torrential rains; these facilities opened 10 d after the disaster.

We evaluated the trends among patients who visited a medical clinic located in the area in western Japan affected by heavy rains in 2018. We reviewed medical charts related to 1,301 outpatient visits and conducted descriptive analyses.

More than half of the patients were over 60 years old. The patients experienced mild injuries (7.9% of total visits) as well as common diseases such as hypertensive diseases (30%), diabetes mellitus (7.8%), acute upper respiratory infections (5.4%), skin diseases (5.4%), and eye diseases (4.8%). Hypertensive diseases were the main cause of a visit in any week. Eye problems were the second-highest reason for a visit in the first week, but there was a relative decrease from the first to the third week. Additionally, the proportion of injuries and skin diseases increased from the first to the second week, from 7.9% to 11.1% for injuries, and from 3.9% to 6.7% for skin diseases.

The types of diseases changed on a weekly basis. Older adults needed medical support for longer than other age groups. Prior preparedness such as earlier deployment of such temporary clinics can help mitigate the damage to the victims.