Does it bear any particular hazards to the displaced human population there?
I don’t know the answer to your first question but, IMO the rats for the most part, are under water which drowns the fleas that do harm. But they will be seeking food and are not above biting a human.
Please note: The above statememts are only my opinion, not facts.
I’ve been wondering the same thing. Given the suddenness and ferocity of the flood surge, many or most of the city’s rats might’ve drowned in their burrows (they tend to lie dormant during the day, emerging in the evening to forage), even though they’re excellent swimmers and climbers. It’s true that rats can and do eat human flesh in some circumstances, and while they’ll eat food going rancid, they don’t eat really putrid food. In the weeks and months to come, many of the surviving rats will fight amongst themselves in a long, prolonged bout of predatory cannibalism, as the city will be practically devoid of humanity and the rats’ (mostly human-provided) food supply will have disappeared. Those living on the peripheries of the city will doubtless move to the surrounding area, if they haven’t done so already. Aggressive poisoning and trapping efforts in those areas might become necessary in the weeks to come.
Rats have been known to have very low response levels to Census questionnaires.
Considering that there won’t be a lot of people around for the rats to hide from for awhile, I would assume that at least a temporary rodent population boom will be seen. As for what they are or will be eating, they’re smart enough to generally avoid that which is obviously bad, so I imagine that people won’t be on the menu that long, if at all.
Geez, what a frickin’ mess this all is.
Don’t a lot of animals have a higher sense of danger then humans and
get the hell out of dodge before the shit hits the fan.
Or another way or saying it couldn’t the rats have sensed change in
atmosferic pressure, instinctively known this meant flood, and high taled
it out of there?
EnderWay. Not a definitive answer, but Google Answers notes the lack of dead animals in the tsunami.