1. Home
  2. ICD-10-CM Codes List
  3. V01–Y99
  4. X30-X39
  5. Flood (X38)

Flood (X38)

This ICD-10 code section X38 is used to classify medical encounters related to floods, including initial treatment, follow-up visits, and complications arising from flood events. It covers various types of floods such as coastal, reservoir, fluvial, and flash floods.

The ICD-10 code for flood (X38) captures injuries or health issues caused by flooding incidents resulting from natural environmental causes like storms, snowmelt, and glacial lake outbursts. Specific codes with 7th characters; X38.XXXA for the initial encounter, X38.XXXD for subsequent encounters, and X38.XXXS for sequelae; help differentiate the timing and nature of medical care related to floods. Synonyms such as coastal flood, groundwater flood, ice jam flood, and flash flood assist coders in correctly applying the code when documentation refers to these terms. Using these codes ensures accurate recording of flood-related injuries and health effects for patient care and reporting purposes.

Instructional Notations

Inclusion Terms

These terms are the conditions for which that code is to be used. The terms may be synonyms of the code title, or, in the case of "other specified" codes, the terms are a list of the various conditions assigned to that code. The inclusion terms are not necessarily exhaustive. Additional terms found only in the Alphabetic Index may also be assigned to a code.

  • Flood arising from remote storm
  • Flood of cataclysmic nature arising from melting snow
  • Flood resulting directly from storm

Type 1 Excludes

A type 1 excludes note is a pure excludes note. It means "NOT CODED HERE!" An Excludes1 note indicates that the code excluded should never be used at the same time as the code above the Excludes1 note. An Excludes1 is used when two conditions cannot occur together, such as a congenital form versus an acquired form of the same condition.

  • collapse of dam or man-made structure causing earth movement X36.0
  • tidal wave NOS X37.41
  • tidal wave caused by storm X37.42

7th Character Note

Certain ICD-10-CM categories have applicable 7th characters. The applicable 7th character is required for all codes within the category, or as the notes in the Tabular List instruct. The 7th character must always be the 7th character in the data field. If a code that requires a 7th character is not 6 characters, a placeholder X must be used to fill in the empty characters.

  • The appropriate 7th character is to be added to code X38

7th Character

Indicates that a seventh character is to be assigned to codes in a subcategory.

  • A - initial encounter
  • D - subsequent encounter
  • S - sequela