TALLAHASSEE, FL. Returning from what she thought was the best internship of her life, Danaya Daniels was eager to relax and start a new semester at Florida A&M University. But when she opened the door to her off-campus apartment, she was greeted by an unbearable smell and a devastating reality.
“There was mold in my bedroom, in my bed, in my most expensive purse,” Daniels said. “Mold in the closet, in the bathroom, literally everywhere.”
During his absence, the Tallahassee area experienced a series of severe natural disasters that caused extensive damage. According to the National Center for Environmental Information, hurricanes in the summer of 2024 caused damage estimated at billions of dollarsforced many families to move and left numerous businesses in ruins.
But the damage was not only material. As the community worked to recover, mold spread into homes and buildings throughout the city, turning the disaster into a protracted crisis with public health implications.
“If any part of the home has been exposed to flooding or leaks and has not dried completely within 24 to 48 hours, mold will almost certainly develop,” he explained. Parham AzimiResearch Fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health T.C. Chan, who studies the relationship between mold exposure and respiratory health, especially during natural disasters.
“After a major storm, we often see an increase in respiratory illnesses, especially in flooded homes,” he explained.
The basis of the problem
It is assumed that 47% residential buildings from the USA damp or moldy. So, even though the latest hurricane season is almost over, health problems associated with mold are still present.
How 29% of the population Residents living in flood-prone coastal counties have a significant risk of exposure to mold spores and allergens that can cause respiratory illness. This leaves approximately 95 million people vulnerable to extreme weather events.
This figure does not even include those living in interior areas of the country that also suffer from flooding, such as the flood-ravaged mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. Severe flooding after Hurricane Helen last year, nor those who saw their homes flooded by rains in Texas Hill Country this summer.
Health effects range from mild allergic reactions to serious respiratory problems. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), common symptoms include: nasal congestion, asthma attacks and skin irritation..
Long-term exposure may lead to more serious complications such as hypersensitivity pneumonitis – rare pneumonia – and diseases caused by mycotoxinswhich can affect the nervous system, liver and kidneys.
Now, due to President Donald Trump's cuts and policy changes, this in doubt continuity of the important federal program which helps restore houses damaged by natural disasters, as well as assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
invisible enemy
One of the biggest dangers of mold is that it often goes undetected for months or even years, leaving people exposed without even realizing it.
Houston resident Lauren Lowenstein knows this all too well. “For five years, my family’s health had been declining and we didn’t know why,” she said.
After running the test Relative environmental moldiness indexLowenstein discovered that toxic mold spores were growing inside the walls of his home due to excessive condensation in the air conditioning system. She, her husband and two children were forced to immediately leave the house and start over.
“The mold was not visible and we had no signs of mold growth,” he said.
Moreover, even if mold is found, removing it is an expensive task. On average, mold removal costs range from US$1,222 and US$3,751According to home services platform Angi. However, in serious cases the price can exceed $30,000. Often, people who purchase insurance that covers mold damage must bear some of the costs.
Daniels, for example, had to leave her Tallahassee apartment and spend a month in a hotel while she waited to move into a renovated place. In addition, he had to replace all of his belongings.
The cost of successful relocation is unaffordable for many families, and affordable alternative housing can be difficult to find, Azimi said. These difficulties mean that we continue to be exposed to mold.
“For low-income and marginalized communities, the risks are even greater,” Azimi said.
Slow and limited support
For those seeking government assistance, wait times can be quite long, said the Rev. Mac Legerton, founder School of Disaster Survival and ResilienceRobeson County in North Carolina. “In many cases, families have to choose between living in unsafe conditions or becoming homeless,” he lamented.
A audit carried out in 2019 and is funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development through 88 disaster grants, it appears that the Community Development Grants Disaster Recovery program has begun distributing requested funds, on average 20 months after the first disaster. In many cases, payments took two years or more.
“In our disaster response system, mold remediation is one of the most underserved areas locally, statewide and nationally,” Legerton said.
Legerton's organization operates a program called Mold Hunters, a hands-on training and education initiative that provides Robeson County residents with the tools and knowledge needed to safely remove mold from homes, churches and businesses after natural disasters.
The program also offers free mold remediation services to vulnerable communities. He explained that they created it in response to the lack of timely assistance in this area of central North Carolina.
The waiting takes its toll
Tanya Locklear faced this situation after Hurricanes Matthew and Florence caused extensive damage to her home in Pembroke, North Carolina, in 2016 and 2018, respectively.
Finally, their home was infested with mold.
We asked for help under the state program Restore North Carolina in August 2021, but he said his request was not granted until November 2023. Renovation work began in February 2024, more than two years after the application was submitted.
Locklear argued that his case only advanced due to the efforts of local advocates, including pressure from community leaders and the Legerton organization.
However, the initial delays have already taken a toll on the health and well-being of his family. While waiting for help, Locklear and her children continued to live in unsanitary conditions due to mold. She says they all suffered from problems such as headaches, nosebleeds and difficulty breathing.
Even today, Locklear said he still has trouble breathing, demonstrating the long-term harm of living in mold-infested homes.
Legerton, who works with his team directly with victims in North Carolina, insists that lawmakers and officials need to focus on streamlining disaster relief programs to ensure effective and rapid assistance to affected families and communities across the country.
Government officials should also increase funding for mold cleanup and remediation efforts to deter people from having to move and prevent long-term health problems, Legerton and other public health experts said.
Likewise, it increases the need for stricter building standards and the promotion of flood-resistant home projects to reduce the risk of mold in disaster-vulnerable areas.
Without preventative policies, Azimi said, millions of people could be exposed to unhealthy living conditions for much longer.
“As climate change intensifies, hurricanes and severe storms will become more frequent and destructive, increasing the risk of mold-related illnesses,” Azimi said.
