The Effects of Hydrological Disasters on the Population's Health in the Northeast Region of Brazil

Abstract

The Northeast region of Brazil is characterized by long periods of drought. However, the region is also frequently affected by floods. The socioeconomic characteristics of the locality make the population more vulnerable to the impacts of these disasters. Therefore, the aim of this article is to investigate the short to long-term impacts of hydrological disasters in northeastern Brazil on morbidity and mortality rates, by age groups. For this purpose, the difference-in-differences method proposed by Callaway and Sant'Anna was applied to a monthly panel data spanning the period from 2000 to 2012. The results indicate that in the short term there is an increase in the mortality rate associated with drowning. In the medium term, there are effects particularly on morbidity rates, with emphasis on leptospirosis and acute respiratory diseases. For the long-term diseases analyzed, no effects of hydrological disasters were observed.