Race, Class, and Education: Lessons for School Leaders from Hurricane Katrina and the Gulf Coast

2009 ◽  
Vol 95 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-12
Author(s):  
Kusuma Madamala ◽  
Claudia R. Campbell ◽  
Edbert B. Hsu ◽  
Yu-Hsiang Hsieh ◽  
James James

ABSTRACT Introduction: On Aug. 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall along the Gulf Coast of the United States, resulting in the evacuation of more than 1.5 million people, including nearly 6000 physicians. This article examines the relocation patterns of physicians following the storm, determines the impact that the disaster had on their lives and practices, and identifies lessons learned. Methods: An Internet-based survey was conducted among licensed physicians reporting addresses within Federal Emergency Management Agency-designated disaster zones in Louisiana and Mississippi. Descriptive data analysis was used to describe respondent characteristics. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify the factors associated with physician nonreturn to original practice. For those remaining relocated out of state, bivariate analysis with x2 or Fisher exact test was used to determine factors associated with plans to return to original practice. Results: A total of 312 eligible responses were collected. Among disaster zone respondents, 85.6 percent lived in Louisiana and 14.4 percent resided in Mississippi before the hurricane struck. By spring 2006, 75.6 percent (n = 236) of the respondents had returned to their original homes, whereas 24.4 percent (n = 76) remained displaced. Factors associated with nonreturn to original employment included family or general medicine practice (OR 0.42, 95 percent CI 0.17–1.04; P = .059) and severe or complete damage to the workplace (OR 0.24, 95 percent CI 0.13–0.42; P < .001). Conclusions: A sizeable proportion of physicians remain displaced after Hurricane Katrina, along with a lasting decrease in the number of physicians serving in the areas affected by the disaster. Programs designed to address identified physician needs in the aftermath of the storm may give confidence to displaced physicians to return.


2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 325-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Howard ◽  
Rebecca Zhang ◽  
Yijian Huang ◽  
Nancy Kutner

AbstractIntroductionDialysis centers struggled to maintain continuity of care for dialysis patients during and immediately following Hurricane Katrina's landfall on the US Gulf Coast in August 2005. However, the impact on patient health and service use is unclear.ProblemThe impact of Hurricane Katrina on hospitalization rates among dialysis patients was estimated.MethodsData from the United States Renal Data System were used to identify patients receiving dialysis from January 1, 2001 through August 29, 2005 at clinics that experienced service disruptions during Hurricane Katrina. A repeated events duration model was used with a time-varying Hurricane Katrina indicator to estimate trends in hospitalization rates. Trends were estimated separately by cause: surgical hospitalizations, medical, non-renal-related hospitalizations, and renal-related hospitalizations.ResultsThe rate ratio for all-cause hospitalization associated with the time-varying Hurricane Katrina indicator was 1.16 (95% CI, 1.05-1.29; P = .004). The ratios for cause-specific hospitalization were: surgery, 0.84 (95% CI, 0.68-1.04; P = .11); renal-related admissions, 2.53 (95% CI, 2.09-3.06); P < .001), and medical non-renal related, 1.04 (95% CI, 0.89-1.20; P = .63). The estimated number of excess renal-related hospital admissions attributable to Katrina was 140, representing approximately three percent of dialysis patients at the affected clinics.ConclusionsHospitalization rates among dialysis patients increased in the month following the Hurricane Katrina landfall, suggesting that providers and patients were not adequately prepared for large-scale disasters.Howard D, Zhang R, Huang Y, Kutner N. Hospitalization rates among dialysis patients during Hurricane Katrina. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2012;27(4):1-5.


2010 ◽  
Vol 14 (14) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shrinidhi Ambinakudige ◽  
Sami Khanal

Abstract Southern forests contribute significantly to the carbon sink for the atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) associated with the anthropogenic activities in the United States. Natural disasters like hurricanes are constantly threatening these forests. Hurricane winds can have a destructive impact on natural vegetation and can adversely impact net primary productivity (NPP). Hurricane Katrina (23–30 August 2005), one of the most destructive natural disasters in history, has affected the ecological balance of the Gulf Coast. This study analyzed the impacts of different categories of sustained winds of Hurricane Katrina on NPP in Mississippi. The study used the Carnegie–Ames–Stanford Approach (CASA) model to estimate NPP by using remote sensing data. The results indicated that NPP decreased by 14% in the areas hard hit by category 3 winds and by 1% in the areas hit by category 2 winds. However, there was an overall increase in NPP, from 2005 to 2006 by 0.60 Tg of carbon, in Mississippi. The authors found that Pearl River, Stone, Hancock, Jackson, and Harrison counties in Mississippi faced significant depletion of NPP because of Hurricane Katrina.


Author(s):  
Kenneth Joh ◽  
Alexandria Norman ◽  
Sherry I. Bame

AbstractHurricanes Katrina and Rita struck the US Gulf Coast in 2005, leading to the largest mass evacuation in US history and straining the region’s transportation infrastructure and services. This case study addresses the topic of disaster response to transportation unmet needs through an unprecedented spatial and longitudinal analysis of transportation-related disaster 2-1-1 call data collected in real-time, allowing for the investigation of unmet transportation needs by location and disaster phases. The authors analyze 25,205 transportation-related calls logged in Texas’ 25 regional 2-1-1 Area Information Centers from August 1 to December 31, 2005, including a baseline period before Hurricane Katrina, evacuation and landfall, and 3-months recovery post-Hurricane Rita. The spatial results show that transportation unmet needs were concentrated in Texas’ major metropolitan areas, especially in Houston-Galveston, and along highway evacuation routes. However, after controlling for population size, areas close to the landfall site and evacuation destinations had greater unmet transportation needs. Longitudinally, transportation unmet needs surged during evacuation and immediate disaster response then returned to baseline levels during recovery. Based on the results of the case study analyzing Texas 2-1-1 call data of unmet transportation needs, strategies and policies for improving mass evacuation and transportation support services are proposed and discussed.


Author(s):  
David Perkes ◽  

What is changing in the world so that the word “resilience” is so frequently used? 2015 marks the ten year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the five year anniversary of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The Gulf Coast Community Design Studio has been working on the Mississippi Gulf Coast since Hurricane Katrina and their work provides the vantage point of this paper. The Gulf Coast Community Design Studio is an off-campus research and service center of Mississippi State University College of Architecture, Art and Design located in Biloxi, Mississippi. It was created to respond to Hurricane Katrina and has evolved from disaster response to long-term efforts of resilience. The design studio’s evolution is not an isolated story. It is part of a national move toward resilience.


Author(s):  
Ewen McCallum ◽  
Julian Heming

On 29 August 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast of the USA to become one of the worst natural disasters in the country's history. The forecasts and official warnings of the event issued by the US National Hurricane Center up to 60 h ahead were excellent and largely based on an ‘ensemble’ of model and statistical guidance. The Met Office Global Model is highlighted as one of the best performers for Hurricane Katrina. The active 2005 Atlantic hurricane season has fuelled the debate on the impact of climate change on tropical cyclones. Some recent publications have suggested that this impact is already apparent, while others are more cautious. Inconsistencies remain among many of the theoretical, modelling and observational studies. Despite the excellent warnings, there was a tragic loss of life as a result of Hurricane Katrina which has led to political questions concerning complex socio-economic issues, the state of flood defences and how to coordinate the reaction to and mitigate the impact of such monumental natural hazards.


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-136
Author(s):  
Elizabeth L. Petrun Sayers, PhD ◽  
Andrew M. Parker, PhD ◽  
Rajeev Ramchand, PhD ◽  
Melissa L. Finucane, PhD ◽  
Vanessa Parks, MA ◽  
...  

Delivering risk and crisis communication to US Gulf Coast residents poses a unique challenge to individual and organizational responders. The region has endured several natural and man-made disasters, spanning Hurricane Katrina, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and more recently Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. In the future, the US Gulf Coast is expected to remain susceptible to a range of disasters. At the same time, the region is experiencing a growing population, struggles with systemic disparities between residents, and is home to major energy, tourism, fishing, and shrimping industries. Engaging in pre-crisis planning with vulnerable populations, and assessing response strategies, can help the region prepare for future disasters. In support of understanding vulnerabilities in the US Gulf Coast, the authors conducted a survey in 2016 of n = 2,520 adult residents of the targeted geographic region. The authors examine how demographic characteristics affect communication channel preferences (ie, television, Internet, print [newspapers, magazines], radio, word-of-mouth, or another specified channel) and trust in sources (ie, the national news media, local news media, business leaders and organizations, religious leaders and institutions, academics and academic institutions, friends and family, and doctors) in the US Gulf Coast. Weighted prevalence estimates or similar summary statistics (mean, standard deviation) are provided for both outcomes. Findings for channel preferences and trust in sources are examined by sex, race/ethnicity, age, and education. Weighted multinomial logistic regression is used in a multivariate model. Weighted linear regression is used to examine differences in trust in each source of information. Results highlight significant differences in channel preferences and trust across respondents. The authors also place these results in context to more readily accessible national estimates of these outcomes, emphasizing takeaways for the region.


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