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Information about oncoming extreme weather events is available days in advance to support preparedness. There is hardly any information comparing the stress perception and anticipatory anxiety during the pre- and post-disaster phases and their link to psychiatric morbidities. The aim was to assess pre-cyclone anxiety and preparedness for the 2024 Dana cyclone, along with post-cyclone anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress, along with the associated facto rs. It was a two-stage population survey conducted during pre- and post-cyclone periods. The perceived severity, experience of stress, concern, and impact of the cyclone were studied, along with sociodemographic factors. Anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress were screened using the General Anxiety Disorder 2-item (GAD-2), Patient Health Questionnaire, 2-item (PHQ-2), and Primary Care PTSD screen for DSM-5 (PC-PTSD-5). Pre-cyclone clinical level anxiety was present in 17.3% (95% Confidence Interval: 14.3-20.7), post-cyclone anxiety in 14.5% (6.9-25.8), depression in 12.9% (5.7-23.9), and PTSD in 17.7% (9.2-29.5). In total, 24.2% (14.2-36.7) had post-cyclone psychiatric morbidity, and the majority (60.0%) of them had comorbidity. Common posttraumatic stress symptoms included feeling constantly on guard, trying hard not to think about the cyclone, intrusive thoughts, and avoidance. Among various risk factors identified for psychiatric morbidities, the most consistent factors were rural background, low socioeconomic status, evacuation, perceiving the cyclone as extremely severe, and being stressed just before, during, and after the cyclone. Even following a comparatively low-intensity cyclone, anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress were observed at higher rates than those of the general population. Besides the low intensity, better preparedness might have helped decrease the mental health consequences.
Kar et al. (Thu,) studied this question.