Dear Reviewer,

thank you for taking the time and effort to review the manuscript. We are very happy with the positive evaluation, which does not propose further revisions.

Kind regards on behalf of all authors,

Marie-Luise Zenker

Thank you for taking the time and effort to review the manuscript. We sincerely appreciate all valuable comments and suggestions, which helped us to improve our manuscript.

Kind regards on behalf of all authors,

Marie-Luise Zenker

We address below the comments (in italics) raised and explain in our detailed point-by-point response how we will address these in a revised version of our manuscript.

1. "Ahr Valley" could be clarified as "the Ahr Valley" for consistency and clarity.

The term “the Ahr Valley” is consistently implemented throughout the revised manuscript.

2. In "i.e., in June/July 2022", consider replacing "i.e." with "specifically", as it's not introducing an alternative term but specifying the timeframe.

We thank you for this comment. We will change the sentence for clarity according to the suggestion.

3. "The survey utilized a short epidemiological screening scale to determine the prevalence of people who show indications of suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)." - This sentence could be rephrased for clarity and flow: "The survey employed a short epidemiological screening scale to assess the prevalence of individuals showing indications of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)."

We appreciate the suggestion and will change the sentence accordingly.

4. Consider specifying the name or source of the screening scale used for transparency and reproducibility of the study.

Thank you for this comment. The epidemiological short-screening scale we used has no generally accepted name or abbreviation, and since it is unusual/unpractical to include references in the abstract, we prefer not to do so. In the method section of our manuscript, we explain which screening tool we used exactly.

5. In "Our findings reveal significant mental health issues one year after the flood event: 28.2% of the respondents show indications of PTSD." - Consider rephrasing for clarity: "Our findings indicate significant mental health issues one year after the flood event, with 28.2% of respondents showing indications of PTSD."

Thank you for this comment. We will change the sentence according to the suggestion.

6. "Furthermore, this study has uncovered essential risk factors for developing indications of PTSD after flooding" - Consider revising for clarity and conciseness: "Additionally, the study identified key risk factors associated with developing PTSD symptoms following flooding."

We will change the sentence as suggested.

7. "As a result, care methods should be adapted to tackle the prevalence and risk factors connected with PTSD in the affected population." - Consider specifying what specific adaptations are recommended for care methods.

Thank you for this comment. We will include an example related to our findings. We suggest providing targeted aftercare for individuals who were injured or became sick during the flood event, as this is a significant risk factor identified in our study.