Health risks from flooding
The health risks that floods can leave behind include:
- bacterial infections
- loss of medicines
- mould
- contaminated floodwater
- contaminated food or water
- injuries
- animal bites from displaced animals
- mosquito-borne illnesses
- carbon monoxide poisoning from generators.
Protect your health
If you feel unwell or have been injured, seek medical care. If it’s an emergency, call 000. Lacerations and open wounds contaminated with flood water can become infected. Severe trauma-related infections can be life-threatening.
There are steps you can take to protect your health:
- Don’t leave your house until authorities advise it is safe.
- If you cannot keep refrigerated medicines cold in the fridge or in ice, safely discard them. If it is essential medicine, such as insulin, check with a doctor or pharmacist. Medicines Line (1300 633 424) can also answer questions about medicines.
- Throw out medicine and food that has been in contact with floodwater.
- If the power has been out, don’t eat the food from your refrigerator or freezer.
- Contact your local council to check whether the local water supply is contaminated. If in doubt, boil all drinking water before use.
- Before going outside or cleaning up, put on long pants, long sleeves, fully covered shoes, gloves, glasses, and an N95 mask if you have it.
- When cleaning up, don’t touch your face, and wash your hands regularly and thoroughly.
- Don’t walk through floodwater or mud, as it can be contaminated with sewage.
- Disinfect cuts and scrapes immediately and regularly.
- Watch out for displaced animals like insects, snakes, rats and spiders.
- Protect yourself against mosquitoes.
- Ventilate your home to help prevent mould.
- If you need clean-up assistance, seek help from your local or state government or State Emergency Service (SES).
Follow local advice. See regular flood recovery and support updates from the NSW Government. Your local ABC radio is a reliable source of information.
Financial support
Depending on your circumstances, you might be eligible for:
- the Disaster Recovery Allowance, which provides income support for eligible workers and sole traders who have suffered a loss of income as a direct result of the east coast severe weather and flooding
- the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment, which provides a one-off payment to those who have suffered the most serious impacts, including major damage to their home, serious injury, or loss of a loved one.
Accessing health care
If healthcare services are disrupted in your area, you can find a health service through:
- staff in evacuation centres
- healthdirect’s health service finder.
To speak with a registered nurse 24/7, call healthdirect on 1800 022 222. Depending on your symptoms, you may be connected virtually to a GP.
healthdirect can also connect you to your local Medicare Urgent Care Clinic.
If you need urgent help from police, fire or ambulance services, call triple zero (000).
Getting medicines
If you have lost your prescription or medicines, contact your pharmacist or healthcare professional as soon as possible.
Pharmacists can call your doctor to make sure you can still get the prescription medicines you need. In some cases, you can get your medicines without a script.
Read more about getting medicines after a flood.
Mental health support
Experiencing a natural disaster can be extremely stressful. Support is available – see a full list of support services you can access.
More information
For more information and support, see: