Mental health costs of flooding
Including the impact of floods on people鈥檚 mental health for the first time.
Family moving items after a flood. Image credit: Environment Agency.
A method for monetising the mental health costs of flooding聽
1, 1, Jacqui Cotton 2 and Carolann Simmonds 2
1 Faculty of Science and Technology, Middlesex University, United Kingdom
2 Environment Agency, United Kingdom
The Environment Agency and risk management authorities routinely include the mental health impacts of flooding in investment decisions following research published in 2021 .
Prior to this research, investment decisions focussed on the economic damages to homes, businesses and infrastructure. Although authorities knew that those affected by floods suffered with mental health conditions, there was insufficient robust data available to develop a new method. However, in 2017, Public Health England published the results of a .
This study showed that people whose homes had been flooded suffered high levels of probable depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. The study provided the figures needed to look at the economic damages for the first time. Subsequent studies showed these impacts could last for at least 2 years after the flood.
Impact
The Environment Agency project took this new data and used it to calculate the costs of the mental health impacts. These costs include treatment and medication, and loss of employment or earnings due to time off work. The project worked out the value to be 拢1,878 per adult per flood for shallow floods (less than 30cm of water in a home) to up to 拢4,136 per adult per flood for deeper, more severe floods (when water is over 1 metre deep). Deeper floods result in more possessions being lost and people being away from their homes for longer during repairs. This increases the impact on those affected, and thus increases the cost.
Alongside the research project, Environment Agency economists created clear guidance on how to use the economic cost information for those developing business cases for flood risk projects. The guidance was published in Mental health costs of flooding and erosion.
搁别蝉辞耻谤肠别蝉听
Environment Agency. (2020). A method for monetising the mental health costs of flooding. Available at: /flood-and-coastal-erosion-risk-management-research-reports/a-method-for-monetising-the-mental-health-costs-of-flooding (Accessed: 24 March 2025).
Environment Agency. (2021). Guidance: Mental health costs of flooding and erosion. Available at: /government/publications/mental-health-costs-of-flooding-and-erosion/mental-health-costs-of-flooding-and-erosion (Accessed: 24 March 2025).
UK Health Security Agency. (2023). Guidance: How to recover from flooding. Available from: /government/publications/flooding-and-health-advice-for-frontline-responders/how-to-recover-from-flooding - assessment-and-management-of-mental-health (Accessed: 24 March 2025).
UK Health Security Agency. (2023). Health effects of climate change in the UK 2023 report. Chapter 3 Climate change, flooding, coastal change and public health. Available at: (Accessed: 24 March 2025).
贵耻苍诲别谤听
The research project was funded by the Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) research and development programme.听听
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- Flood Hazard Research Centre, Middlesex University
- Environment Agency聽
- Natural Resources Wales鈥�
- Public Health England
Research period鈥�
- 2017 to 2020
Impact period鈥�
- 2020 onward
Impact country聽聽
- England
Contributing to the areas of research interest
- 3 - Funding and investment