Floods, hurricanes and other natural disasters can devastate a town in just a few hours. But the impact on residents can linger for years in the form of anxiety, depression or other mental health problems.
Pacific Junction, Iowa, sits right along the Missouri River. A small town 鈥� pop. less than 500 鈥� it was founded as a stop for the railroad headed out West. Sharon Stewart, 57, says her community was quiet and close-knit, a place where people spent their entire lives.
That is, until the spring of 2019.
鈥淲e only had probably 15 minutes to get things out,鈥� Stewart recalls. 鈥淎nd water came in pretty fast. But my husband ended up being pretty much in shock.鈥�
As the water seeped in, Stewart grabbed the things that mattered most to her: photographs and a favorite blanket. It wasn鈥檛 long before the house was flooded with several feet of water.
The disaster was triggered by days of intense rain. The Missouri overflowed its banks and a levy broke, flooding a large part of western Iowa.
One Iowa official painted a grim picture of Pacific Junction: just one house left standing.
鈥淲e lost everything. You know, we had a three bedroom house, two garages,鈥� Stewart says. 鈥淎nd we lost everything, you know, as did everybody else.鈥�
More than a year later, not much has changed in Pacific Junction. Almost all of the houses are uninhabitable, including Stewart's.
But she says the emotional impact of the flood was even tougher than losing her home. 鈥淭he worst part was what was caused by everything, the stress, everything."
This post-disaster stress is common, from The Center for Public Integrity, Columbia Journalism Investigations and newsrooms across the country. Side Effects Public Media collaborated on the project.
The survey asked people affected by natural disasters to share their experiences. Nearly 200 responded to the online survey, most from regions repeatedly hit by disasters in the last decade Seventy percent of the survivors said they did not get mental health services after their experience, for reasons ranging from cost to their belief that they didn鈥檛 need help.
鈥淪o right away after a disaster when people are displaced, they're really just meeting their basic needs met,鈥� says Tara Powell, an associate professor at the University of Illinois School of Social Work. 鈥淎 lot of people will just be on autopilot and just be on the go go go.鈥�
Powell studies the mental health impacts of natural disasters, and has worked in the aftermath of hurricanes in New Orleans and Houston. She says when life begins to settle down, mental health issues can begin.
She adds, 鈥淪o it can be really disheartening, because people aren't getting the resources they need, and they see these resources going somewhere else. But they've experienced the same level ... of impact, or more even.鈥�
Julie Kalambokidis was part of a team that supported Pacific Junction residents following the 2019 flood.
鈥淪ome of them just needed somebody else to talk to,鈥� says Kalambokidis, executive director of Embrace Iowa Inc., which supports people with disabilities and mental health issues. 鈥淏ut some needed a little more support. So we would refer them on to other services that were available."
But finding mental health treatment can be difficult. Like all states in the Midwest, Iowa doesn鈥檛 have . And the emergency services provided after a natural disaster don鈥檛 last long.
鈥淲hile there's a fire to put out there, pumping some stuff in there, which is great,鈥� Kalambokidis says. 鈥淏ut once the initial shock of floods and pandemics is over, then it kind of disappears again. That鈥檚 been my experience.鈥�
Sharon Stewart says she鈥檚 suffered serious health problems from repeatedly returning to her wet and moldy home in Pacific Junction. And she says her family鈥檚 finances continue to dwindle while they wait on money from FEMA. That all contributes to her stress.
鈥淚 really I'm scared, I have no clue what's gonna happen,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd that's the hardest part. That's the hardest part.鈥�
With all that鈥檚 been going on, Stewart hasn鈥檛 sought help. She says she鈥檚 been too busy.
This story was produced by, a news collaborative covering public health,.
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