Public health consequences of a flood disaster--Iowa, 1993

Unprecedented amounts of rain in the spring and summer of 1993 led to disastrous flooding and crop damage in nine Midwestern states. In Iowa (1990 population: 2,777,000), extensive flood damage occurred in all 99 countries. On July 11, 1993, the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) requested assistance from CDC to assess the adverse public health impact of the flooding and to plan the public health response to the disaster. CDC assisted IDPH in performing an initial rapid statewide public health assessment and establishing weekly surveillance to monitor ongoing or anticipated flood-related health problems. This report summarizes the methods of the assessment and surveillance and preliminary findings.