emergency preparedness a theoretical or practical issue ... · emergency preparedness a theoretical...
TRANSCRIPT
Emergency preparedness a theoretical or practical issue?
– A Katrina case study. Jeanette H. Magnus MD, PhD
Professor & Head MCH Section, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine
Program Director, Tulane Leadership Education in Maternal and Child Public Health Program
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
Timeline—August 28, 0900hrsSunday
Hurricane Katrina upgraded to Category 4 storm with later intensification to Cat 5
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
Hurricane Katrina Facts
• First Category 5 Hurricane (sustained winds > 156 mph) of 2005 season
• Made first landfall north of Miami as Category 1 (74 – 95 mph) on 8/25/05
• Made landfall on Louisiana coast on 8/29/05 as Category 4 (131-155 mph) storm
• Third most intense storm to ever make landfall (918 mbar)
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
Post Katrina
• No power• No phone service• No cell phone service• Radio AM band connection• Two hours in line at Wal-Mart in 95degrees• Our hosts got the last generator available in
Magnolia, Mississippi• TV brought horror and reality
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
The water city
AP photos
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
To higher ground
AP photos
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
Rising water
AP photos
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
9,500 were airlifted by the coastguard alone
AP photos
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
Water around
AP photos
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
Where to go?
AP photos
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
Post Katrina 2
• No gasoline• Collect call to friends in unaffected area• Internet connection• Posted message on NOLA.com and other
web sites looking for staff and faculty• Within one week after Katrina everyone
had been located and communication established
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
Post Katrina -3
• Tulane Leadership Education in Maternal and Child Public Health Program (MCHB)
• The Tulane MCH Epidemiology Doctoral Training Program (MCHB)
• The Tulane National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health (DHHS)
• The Tulane K-12 BIRCWH (NIH)• All active as virtual programs before
September 15, 2005
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
Virtual programs
• 24/7 phone number courtesy OWH, DHHS– Large conference calls– Small meetings
• Contacted some key K-12 programs and got permission to listen in to their Scholar seminars
• Yahoo web site• Yahoo shared folder for each program
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
Lessons learned
• Roster with staff’s out of town relative • Roster of staff’s non institution e-mail• Have a “yahoo” web site available to launch
immediately• Have a portable hard drive or CDs with all vital
information related to Department, Center, key programs and research at your home
• Your organization needs to have an out-of-state data backup
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
Personal lessons learned
• Have your photos, personal, property and medical information on a CD or portable hard drive
• Have cash• Do not pack 4 pair of shorts!
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
AP photo
Emergency Preparedness in New Orleans
= to Community Preparedness?
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
Emergency preparedness• City plan for Hurricane Preparedness
– Phase I: Training, Exercises and Education– Phase II: Warning, Evacuation and Sheltering– Phase III: Recovery– Phase IV: Mitigation– http://www.cityofno.com/portal.aspx?portal=46&tabid=26
• Post Katrina response failure due to:– Lack of preparedness in the community– Vastness of damage– Breakdown of communication– Lack of prompt action from local, state and federal leaders
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
The day storm hit, Bush was worried about leveesTranscript shows gap in concern, actionWednesday, March 01, 2006 By Bill WalshWashington bureau
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
AP photo
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
Post Katrina
• Women and children hard hit• “They said it was a hurricane –what is a
hurricane?”• “We are hungry and have nowhere to go”
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
Days of rescue
AP photo
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
Babies• Woman’s Hospital in Baton Rouge received 121
newborn and premature evacuees within the first days after the storm
• They expanded their NICU from 60 to 80 babies within 24 hours
• 29 babies from the University Hospital NICU were taken by boat and helicopters before triaged further from Woman’s Hospital
• No plan on what to do with population prior to Katrina
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
Children
• Food storage– MRE?– Baby food?
• Breastfeeding initiatives?
• Diapers and sanitary napkins?
AP photo
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
Seniors and disabled
• Death toll during and after Katrina high among seniors and disabled
• Many elderly on medication or oxygen did not evacuate
• Several nursing homes did not have hurricane disaster or evacuation plans
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
Senior or disabled
AP photos
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
1,326 dead as of 03.01.06
AP photos
Still 7,000 reported missing
Louisiana weekly, 2/27/2006
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
Emergency preparedness - 3• The 100 year storm
scenario described in newspapers and reports years before Katrina
• Forecast correct, but not as fast as feared
• Disaster post Katrina was perhaps manmade
AP photo
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
Hurricane Katrina Facts• Official death toll: 1,326 - Still 7,000 missing• Damage estimate: Over $212 billion for
rebuilding• Over 1 million people displaced• Federal disaster declarations covered 96,000
miles2
• Five million people without power after the storm• Described as “probably the worst catastrophe, or
set of catastrophes” in the country’s history by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff
LA weekly, 2/27/2006
We lost the preparedness phase can we win the recovery phase?
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
September 15, 2005
“The work that has begun in the Gulf Coast region will be one of the largest reconstruction efforts the world has ever seen,” Bush said…. Rebuilding across the devastated region is expected to cost $200 billion or more in the near term…Congress has already approved $62 billion for the disaster, but that is expected to run out next month.
- Associated Press, 9/16/2005
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
January 25, 2006
Donald Powell, President Bush’s choice to oversee the Gulf Coast’s recovery from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, said grant money already appropriated by Congress would be “sufficient” to take care of homeowners who suffered most in the storm. As much as $6.2 billion of that money is slated for Louisiana.
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
Post Katrina damage
• 350,000 households displaced• 96,000 acres of wetlands lost• 10-25% of houses beyond repair
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
Post Katrina neighborhoods
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
Road to Recovery
AP photos
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
Road to recovery
AP photos
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
Road to Recovery
AP photos
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
Recovery?
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
Post Katrina New Orleans
• Great job opportunities• Limited housing• Limited daycare possibilities• Limited school availability• Everything has post Katrina prices• 40% express they do not intend to return
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
Post Katrina Civic Activity
• An unprecedented level of engagement by returning citizens
• Neighborhood committees• Town hall meetings• Bring Back New Orleans Commission
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
Post Katrina MCHLT Activity• MCHLT Faculty
– Bring Back New Orleans Commission• Urban Planning Committee• Health and Human Service Committeehttp://www.bringneworleansback.org/
– Framework for a Healthier Greater New Orleans• Primary Care Work Group• Specialty Care Work Group• Core Public Health Work Group• Health Promotion and Healthier City Work Goruphttp://www.stayhealthyla.org/framework.php
Tulane Leadership Education in MCH Program
Thank you!