Children’s Health Vulnerability to Climate Change: An Analysis of the Relationship between Floods, Environmental Sanitation and Infectious Diseases in Children Under Five Years of Age

Background: Floods can compromise household sanitation and expose young children to infectious hazards. Objective: To examine the associations of flood exposure and environmental sanitation with reported infectious illness among children aged 12–59 months in Koto Tangah, Padang. Methods: The manuscript describes a cross-sectional survey of 152 mothers/caregivers conducted January–May 2026, using questionnaires and household observation. Associations were analyzed using chi-square tests and multiple logistic regression. Results: Reported infectious illness affected 56/152 children (36.8%), including 32/61 (52.5%) in high-flood-exposure households and 24/91 (26.4%) in low-exposure households. High flood exposure was associated with illness in the reported multivariable model (aOR 2.48; 95% CI 1.27–4.85); abnormal nutritional status was also associated (aOR 1.89; 95% CI 1.01–3.54). Sanitation indicators did not retain conventional statistical significance after adjustment. Conclusion: The presented results suggest an association between household flood exposure and reported childhood illness, but causal inference is precluded by the cross-sectional design. The source dataset and analytical output must be verified before reporting these figures as empirical findings.