Faced with floods and suicides, U.S. readies for a warmer world

(Reuters News, 19 Aug 2019) Extreme weather linked to climate change is creating hardships for many - but the psychological trauma is barely on the map.

Julia Sanger, whose tiny ice cream shop flooded twice in two years in Maryland's historic Ellicott City, joked darkly that the disasters left many local business owners in need of therapy.

Shops on the former mill town's picturesque Main Street are barely back on their feet more than a year after the second flood. Some are boarded up, and others open just a few hours a day. Several heavily damaged buildings are due to be torn down.

"Some of my friends down here, I know they sought professional therapy. I know there's probably some who should have and didn't," said Sanger, whose shop got 6 feet (1.8 m) of muddy floodwater in 2016 and 8 ft in 2018.

"I drink a lot," she added. "I'm not going to lie. I'm definitely drinking more than I did before."

She has also moved her shop to higher ground.

Worsening extreme weather linked to climate change is creating hardships for many, from immediate deaths and injuries to increases in asthma and heat stroke. But the psychological trauma that often accompanies such losses is barely on the map.

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Reuters News, 19 Aug 2019: Faced with floods and suicides, U.S. readies for a warmer world