Psychosocial Effects of a Natural Disaster: A Post-Flood Assessment in the Red River Valley‪.‬

Abstract This research examines the longer-term psychosocial effects of the Red River Flood in Manitoba, Canada. The findings are based on a 2000 survey of 178 individuals living in two communities heavily flooded in 1997. The respondents showed a slightly higher rate of psychological distress than reported in the 1994/95 Canadian National Population Health Survey. However, the rate of distress was not significantly related to either flood damage or financial loss, although these factors did have a positive association. More indicative of psychological distress were the sociodemographic variables of household income, gender, age and education. Respondents who found the flood more stressful, and who perceived themselves to be worse off than others, also exhibited higher levels of distress. The need to examine natural hazards and disasters within a multilayered context including environmental factors, socio-demographic and individual coping attributes, and the implications of this approach for disaster planning and programming, are discussed.