Crowd-sourcing structure-from- motion data for terrain modelling in a real-world disaster scenario: A proof of concept Structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry techniques are now widely available to generate digital terrain models (DTMs) from optical imagery, providing an alternative to costlier options such as LiDAR or satellite surveys. SfM could be a useful tool in hazard studies because its minimal cost makes it accessible even in developing regions and its speed of use can … Continue reading “Crowd-sourcing structure-from- motion data for terrain modelling in a real-world disaster scenario: A proof of concept” Learn More
Hurricane Sandy: Lessons Learned, Again Hurricane Sandy was a sobering reminder to those of us who call New York home that it is a port city and subject to the whims of wind and water. The storm itself was massive: climatologically, a thousand miles wide at its peak; economically, an estimated excess of $50 billion in damages. In the New … Continue reading “Hurricane Sandy: Lessons Learned, Again” Learn More
At the Crossroads of Long-Term Recovery: Joplin, Missouri Six Months after the May 22, 2011 Tornado In December 2011, researchers from Columbia University’s National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP) interviewed key officials and community leaders in Joplin, Missouri in order to document the major themes of the recovery effort approximately six months after the May 22 tornado. Researchers interviewed individuals in Joplin, Missouri to document recovery efforts six months after the … Continue reading “At the Crossroads of Long-Term Recovery: Joplin, Missouri Six Months after the May 22, 2011 Tornado” Learn More
Measuring the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Access to a Personal Healthcare Provider: The Use of the National Survey of Children's Health for an External Comparison Group This paper examined the effect of Hurricane Katrina on children’s access to personal healthcare providers and evaluated the use of propensity score methods to compare a nationally representative sample of children, as a proxy for an unexposed group, with a smaller exposed sample. 2007 data from the Gulf Coast Child and Family Health (G-CAFH) Study, … Continue reading “Measuring the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Access to a Personal Healthcare Provider: The Use of the National Survey of Children’s Health for an External Comparison Group” Learn More
Lessons from Sandy — Preparing Health Systems for Future Disasters Within hours after Hurricane Sandy’s landfall, doctors and staff at one of New York City’s premier medical centers realized that something was going terribly wrong. Lights were flickering, critical devices essential to life support for more than 200 patients, many in intensive care units, were malfunctioning. A decision had to be made by hospital leaders, … Continue reading “Lessons from Sandy — Preparing Health Systems for Future Disasters” Learn More
The 2011 Tuscaloosa Tornado: Integration of Pediatric Disaster Services into Regional Systems of Care Objective: To empirically describe the integration of pediatric disaster services into regional systems of care after the April 27, 2011, tornado in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, a community with no pediatric emergency department or pediatric intensive care unit and few pediatric subspecialists. Study design: Data were obtained in interviews with key informants including professional staff and managers … Continue reading “The 2011 Tuscaloosa Tornado: Integration of Pediatric Disaster Services into Regional Systems of Care” Learn More
Recovery Research, Katrina's Fifth Anniversary, and Lessons Relearned What may be called “disaster science” is a broad field that begins with understanding hazards, risks, and population vulnerabilities and moves on to establishing best-practice models of response, mitigation, and recovery. Gaps abound in our collective knowledge in all of these areas, and it is fair to suggest that we have only begun to scratch … Continue reading “Recovery Research, Katrina’s Fifth Anniversary, and Lessons Relearned” Learn More
Legacy of Katrina: The Impact of a Flawed Recovery on Vulnerable Children of the Gulf Coast It is estimated that in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall on August 29th, 2005 and was followed a month later by Hurricane Rita, approximately 1.5 million people, including some 163,000 children were displaced in Louisiana and Mississippi alone. Since children and families who had the means fled the city, those who were … Continue reading “Legacy of Katrina: The Impact of a Flawed Recovery on Vulnerable Children of the Gulf Coast” Learn More
Emergency Response and Public Health in Hurricane Katrina: What Does it Mean to Be a Public Health Emergency Responder? Since 9/11, federal funds directed toward public health departments for training in disaster preparedness have dramatically increased, resulting in changing expectations of public health workers’ roles in emergency response. This article explores the public health emergency responder role through data collected as part of an oral history conducted with the 3 health departments that responded … Continue reading “Emergency Response and Public Health in Hurricane Katrina: What Does it Mean to Be a Public Health Emergency Responder?” Learn More
Children as Bellwethers of Recovery: Dysfunctional Systems and the Effects of Parents, Households, and Neighborhoods on Serious Emotional Disturbance in Children After Hurricane Katrina Background: Over 160 000 children were displaced from their homes after Hurricane Katrina. Tens of thousands of these children experienced the ongoing chaos and uncertainty of displacement and transiency, as well as significant social disruptions in their lives. The objectives of this study were to estimate the long-term mental health effects of such exposure among … Continue reading “Children as Bellwethers of Recovery: Dysfunctional Systems and the Effects of Parents, Households, and Neighborhoods on Serious Emotional Disturbance in Children After Hurricane Katrina” Learn More
Pediatric Emergency Preparedness for Natural Disasters, Terrorism, and Public Health Emergencies: A National Consensus Conference: 2009 Update This is the third consensus document in an ongoing process to convene experts from the multiple disciplines that are involved in the planning for children affected by disasters. Learn More
Second Wind: The Impact of Hurricane Gustav on Children and Families Who Survived Katrina The category 2 Hurricane Gustav made landfall on the Louisiana Coast on Sept. 1, 2008, nearly three years to the day after Hurricane Katrina, resulting in an evacuation of approximately 2 million people and considerable property damage. Although it did not match the intensity or consequence of Hurricane Katrina, the experience of anticipating and responding … Continue reading “Second Wind: The Impact of Hurricane Gustav on Children and Families Who Survived Katrina” Learn More
Lessons from Katrina – What Went Wrong, What Was Learned, Who’s Most Vulnerable If humans did not occupy the planet, disasters would never occur. Massive climatic events, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis would be regular occurrences, of course, and the earth would look like a dynamic cauldron of natural activity, changing the look and the balance of nature and natural events continuously and randomly. What morphs these natural … Continue reading “Lessons from Katrina – What Went Wrong, What Was Learned, Who’s Most Vulnerable” Learn More
Meeting Mental Health Needs Following a Natural Disaster: Lessons From Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina had a devastating impact on hundreds of thousands of Louisiana and Mississippi families. Housing was destroyed, jobs were lost, and family members were separated, sometimes in different states and without communication. Postdisaster stress reactions were common, with vulnerable individuals most affected. Mental health services were not adequate to meet immediate needs, and postdisaster … Continue reading “Meeting Mental Health Needs Following a Natural Disaster: Lessons From Hurricane Katrina” Learn More
Prevalence and Predictors of Mental Health Distress Post-Katrina: Findings From the Gulf Coast Child and Family Health Study Background: Catastrophic disasters often are associated with massive structural, economic, and population devastation; less understood are the long-term mental health consequences. This study measures the prevalence and predictors of mental health distress and disability of hurricane survivors over an extended period of recovery in a postdisaster setting. Methods: A representative sample of 1077 displaced or … Continue reading “Prevalence and Predictors of Mental Health Distress Post-Katrina: Findings From the Gulf Coast Child and Family Health Study” Learn More
The Legacy of Katrina's Children: Estimating the Numbers of Hurricane-Related At-Risk Children in the Gulf Coast States of Louisiana and Mississippi The 2005 hurricane season, which included hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma, exacted a monumental toll on the people and infrastructure of the Gulf Coast region in the southern United States. Disaster-related losses were estimated to have exceeded $110 billion. Much has been written about the short-term effects on the local housing stock, economy, and populations. … Continue reading “The Legacy of Katrina’s Children: Estimating the Numbers of Hurricane-Related At-Risk Children in the Gulf Coast States of Louisiana and Mississippi” Learn More
Pediatric Preparedness for Disasters, Terrorism and Public Health Emergencies: A National Consensus Conference: Executive Summary and Final Report In 2003, we convened experts from the multiple areas of expertise and disciplines involved in the planning for and care of children during times of disaster and terrorist events. The goals of this unprecedented meeting were to: 1) Build collaboration among individuals with expertise in emergency management, including disaster medicine, disaster planning, pediatric emergency medicine, … Continue reading “Pediatric Preparedness for Disasters, Terrorism and Public Health Emergencies: A National Consensus Conference: Executive Summary and Final Report” Learn More
Ethical and Legal Challenges Posed by mandatory Hurricane Evacuation: Duties and Limits When Hurricane Katrina made landfall in August 2005, between 70,000 and 100,000 residents of New Orleans either did not or could not comply with the order that had been issued to evacuate. The events surrounding Katrina raised critical legal and ethical questions about the use of mandatory evacuation orders. We discuss four key ethical issues … Continue reading “Ethical and Legal Challenges Posed by mandatory Hurricane Evacuation: Duties and Limits” Learn More
On the Edge: Children and Families Displaced by Hurricanes Katrina andRita Face a Looming Medical and Mental Health Crisis: Executive Summary The individuals and families who were displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and who have ended up in FEMA-subsidized community housing in Louisiana are facing a second crisis, one in which untreated and undertreated chronic medical problems and incipient mental health issues will overwhelm patients and providers. Among the displaced, children may be particularly vulnerable. … Continue reading “On the Edge: Children and Families Displaced by Hurricanes Katrina andRita Face a Looming Medical and Mental Health Crisis: Executive Summary” Learn More
On the Edge: Children and Families Displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Face a Looming Medical and Mental Health Crisis The individuals and families who were displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and who have ended up in FEMA-subsidized community housing in Louisiana are facing a second crisis, one in which untreated and undertreated chronic medical problems and incipient mental health issues will overwhelm patients and providers. Among the displaced, children may be particularly vulnerable. … Continue reading “On the Edge: Children and Families Displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Face a Looming Medical and Mental Health Crisis” Learn More
Mental health in the Wake of Hurricane Katrina: Science to Practice This article talks about the programs that were developed post-Katrina in accordance with the mental health facilities and care programs. The Children’s Health Fund was funded 20 years ago to provide medical services to underserved children and families through mobile units. We have found mobile units to be effective ways of delivering services to people … Continue reading “Mental health in the Wake of Hurricane Katrina: Science to Practice” Learn More
Challenges in Meeting Immediate Emotional Needs: Short-term Impact of a Major Disaster on Children's Mental Health: Building Resiliency in the Aftermath of Huricanne Katrina Disasters, whether resulting from terrorism or natural events, have a dramatic impact on the health and well-being of children. Studies after the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, in New York City and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and countless reports on the impact of natural disasters on children show that a child’s mental health … Continue reading “Challenges in Meeting Immediate Emotional Needs: Short-term Impact of a Major Disaster on Children’s Mental Health: Building Resiliency in the Aftermath of Huricanne Katrina” Learn More
