Long-Term Transitional Impact and Mental-Health Consequences of Natural Disasters : A Multi-Site Study

Traditionally, disaster research has focused on well-being consequences or socio-economic effects, often overlooking the association between disaster-brought life changes (i.e., transition) and mental health. Therefore, in this online longitudinal survey, we aimed to evaluate the long-term transitional impact of the flood in Western Germany and the wildfire in British Columbia, Canada, both of which happened during the summer of 2021. Additionally, we aimed to examine the relationships among these disaster-specific transitions and mental health, as well as feelings of being abandoned by the community and government. In this multi-site, multi-disaster study, 48 BC and 41 Western Germany adults were first assessed in 2021, then reassessed in 2022. During both waves, respondents completed the 12-item TIS, the 21-item DASS, the 8-item PCL, and the 2-item feeling of abandonment instrument (community and government). Results indicated that (a) the Germany flood produced higher material and psychological change in 2021 than in 2022; (b) the BC fire produced higher psychological change in 2021 than 2022, but produced modest material change in both time points; (c) the BC-fire group reported greater mental distress in 2021 than 2022, the Germany-flood group reported moderate-to-severe mental distress in both waves, and neither group experienced PTSD-like symptoms; (d) in both groups, evacuees experienced more change and distress than non-evacuees; (e) BC-fire evacuees and Germany-flood non-evacuees indicated that they felt more abandoned by their community than their government; and (f) over time, only psychological changes were reliably associated with distress in both groups. We speculated that following disasters, people’s mental health was largely shaped by the levels of disaster-induced life changes, particularly psychological changes that unfold over time.