Natural Disaster
Hurricane Katrina was the costliest natural disaster at roughly $108 billion (2005 USD) and one of the five deadliest hurricanes in the history of the United States (The Data Center, 2014). It first formed as a tropical depression on August 23rd, 2005 but upgraded all the way to a category 5 hurricane by August 28th, 2005. It struck the city of New Orleans with the intensity of a category 4 hurricane on August 29th, however, despite the weakening of the storm, levee failures caused flooding of 80% of the city with some parts being under 15 feet of water (History, 2009). Because of this, there was a widespread loss of power, communication, and clean water in the city (History, 2009). In addition, there was significant damage to infrastructure such that there was only route out of the city (History, 2009).
This disaster presented huge barriers for providing and accessing healthcare. Many healthcare providers were displaced by the storm and vital public health infrastructure such as laboratories and other facilities were damaged (CDC, 2014). It was also difficult to calculate exact resource needs because many of the city’s population of 500,000 had been evacuated (CDC, 2014). Since water quality and sanitation was poor, there was a huge risk for illnesses such as cholera and norovirus (CDC, 2014). Furthermore, a majority of the people who remained in the city were those that were very poor and had no means to evacuate the city so many took refuge in the Superdome stadium, thus increasing the risk for transmission of diseases (CDC, 2014). The stadium suffered damage from human waste and trash in addition to the elements and refugees were subsequently moved to the Astrodome in Texas (CDC, 2014). There was a response from local, state and federal agencies such as FEMA, the CDC, the Coast Guard, and the Louisiana National Guard but the federal response had been criticized due to mismanagement and poor leadership.
Even though the city held its first major convention in mid-June 2006 and major events like Mardi Gras were never disrupted, the New Orleans’ recovery is still ongoing (The Data Center, (2014). As of 2013, child poverty is higher than it was before Katrina, the overall poverty rate is still the same as pre-Katrina, and 36% of the city’s renters spend over 50% of their income on housing (The Data Center, 2014).
I imagine that working as a healthcare provider during this time must have been quite difficult. Power outages, unsanitary conditions throughout the city, limited resources, and possibly even damage to hospitals could have contributed to an environment unsuitable to deliver even basic patient care. In addition, it would be hard to not only take care of people with extremely limited resources but also to effectively care for patients while worrying for the safety of your loved ones and also if there is damage to your own personal property.
I think that since this disaster, there was a lot of focus on disaster preparedness and there were many lessons learned from various responding agencies. If something were to occur in Ventura County, I know the public health department has infrastructure in place to handle disasters such as stored medical supplies, food and water. Despite this, I don’t think the average citizen has even the minimum requirements of at least a 3-day supply of water for each person in the household, 1 gallon per person per day and two weeks worth of non-perishable food, not to mention extra cash, a first aid kit, and a disaster plan (CDC, 2014).
References
CDC. (2014, December 4). Gather Emergency Supplies. Retrieved April 22, 2015, from CDC: http://www.bt.cdc.gov/preparedness/kit/disasters/
History. (2009). Hurricane Katrina. Retrieved April 27, 2015, from History: http://www.history.com/topics/hurricane-katrina
The Data Center. (2014, August 28). Facts for Features: Katrina Impact. Retrieved April 27, 2015, from The Data Center: http://www.datacenterresearch.org/data-resources/katrina/facts-for-impact/
The Times-Picayune Editorial Board. (2014, August 29). Nine years post Katrina, a recovery still in progress: Editorial. The Times-Picayune .
