Study: Extreme rainfall raises risk of death, with wet, arid regions worst affected

Oct. 9 (UPI) -- A new observational study published Wednesday of more than 100 million deaths from all causes across all six continents over four decades has found a heightened mortality risk among people who live in areas that experience extreme rainfall.

Overall, a day of extreme rainfall with a five-year return period -- expected intervals between events -- was associated with an 8% increase in all-cause deaths, a 5% increase in cardiovascular deaths and a 29% increase in respiratory deaths over 14-days after the rainfall event, according to the research published in the British Medical Journal.

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