Expert View: ‘Floods have dramatic emotional and social impact’

Floods damage people’s mental health as well as their property, an expert on human behaviour has warned.

“As well as causing material disruption and destruction, floods have a dramatic emotional and social impact, said Dr Tim Harries, senior research fellow at London’s Kingston University.

“During a flood, people tend to experience a mixture of fear, disbelief and exhilaration; next comes anger, often followed by exhaustion,” he said.