Health impacts from the 2016 Thunderstorm Asthma Event, health service data (Victorian Department of Health)

– Over the two days of the event (21-22 November 2016), 9909 people presented at public hospital emergency departments in metropolitan Melbourne and Geelong. This includes all presentations, not just asthma/respiratory related ones. This was a 58% increase on the three year average.
– There were 2,953 presentations to public hospitals in Melbourne and Geelong which were coded as ‘respiratory diagnosis.’ This was a 556% increase on the three year average, or 2,520 more presentations.
– There were 1,253 ‘nil diagnosis’ presentations to Melbourne and Geelong public hospitals. This was a 300% increase or 940 excess presentations compared to the 3 year average.