RAPID: Understanding the Interrelationships Among Floods, Building Characteristics, Mold Growth and Occupants’ Asthma Symptoms in the Aftermath of Hurricane Ida

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Extensive dampness and mold growth in buildings are some of the most common, yet overlooked indirect impacts of floods, which adversely affect the human respiratory health, particularly among asthmatic individuals. Threats posed by these events are anticipated to intensify in the future due to the climate change, aging infrastructures and rapid population growth, exposing a broader range of communities to flooding. There is currently a lack of understanding on interrelationships among flood characteristics and drivers, building and HVAC system properties (e.g., ventilation rates), human behaviors (e.g., time spent in homes) and vulnerability to mold growth (e.g., asthma symptoms) in the built environment, particularly in residential buildings. Hurricane Ida, a catastrophic event with huge losses, created a rare and unique opportunity to study these interrelationships since it caused various flood intensity levels within a short timeframe and affected a wide range of communities with diverse demographics and asthma prevalence. This Grants for Rapid Response Research (RAPID) project will collect critical data in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida across West South Central and Northeastern Regions of the US in order to study the abovementioned interrelationships in submerged or water-damaged residential buildings. The collected data and identified relationships can be used to guide building designers and occupational health scientists to establish resilient indoor environments, provide a foundation to develop flood-induced mold growth and asthma risk models, assist public health officials and emergency managers to have a better understanding of indirect health-related impacts of floods and support the development of timely strategies for disaster management in population centers. Our interdisciplinary team seeks to answer the following scientific questions: (1) what flood characteristics and drivers, building and HVAC system properties and human behaviors cause higher levels of mold growth in residential buildings? and (2) how does living in submerged or water-damaged houses after floods affect asthma symptoms among the residents? To answer these questions, we will investigate the aftermath of Hurricane Ida and collect critical data required for examining human respiratory health risks associated with mold growth in water-damaged and submerged wooden single-family houses located across New Orleans, New York City and Philadelphia metropolitan areas. We will explore a comprehensive range of factors influencing mold growth in submerged or water-damaged buildings of two distant regions affected by a catastrophic hurricane event. A combination of online surveys, comprehensive questionnaires, home inspections and existing datasets will be used to collect information on flooding, respiratory health and built environment. The project will develop a unified empirical database of flood characteristics and drivers, building and HVAC system properties, human behaviors, mold growth and asthma symptoms, which is essential to advance the scientific understanding of flood impacts on human respiratory health in the built environments.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.