OBJECTIVE Hurricane Katrina struck the US Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005, causing unprecedented damage to numerous communities in Louisiana and Mississippi. Our objectives were to verify, document, and characterize Katrina-related mortality in Louisiana and help identify strategies to reduce mortality in future disasters. METHODS We assessed Hurricane Katrina mortality data sources received in...

The Displaced New Orleans Residents Pilot Study was designed to examine the current location, well-being, and plans of people who lived in the City of New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina struck on 29 August 2005. The study is based on a representative sample of pre-Katrina dwellings in the city. Respondents were administered a short paper-and-pencil interview by mail, by telephone, or in person....

Theory and evidence on disaster-induced population displacement have focused on individual and population-subgroup characteristics. Less is known about impacts on households. I estimate excess incidence of household break-up due to Hurricane Katrina by comparing a probability sample of pre-Katrina New Orleans resident adult household heads and non-household heads (N = 242), traced just over a y...

Luckily, not many storms are as destructive as Katrina. Since 1990, only Hurricane Andrew approaches it in the value of property damage, which was less than half that of Katrina in 2005 dollars. The attacks of September 11, 2001, did a comparable amount of property damage, but cost far more lives. That such catastrophes are extremely rare does not necessarily mean another will not occur in the ...

Hurricane Katrina dramatically altered the level of social and environmental stressors for the residents of the New Orleans area. The Family Stress Model describes a process whereby felt financial strain undermines parents' mental health, the quality of family relationships, and child adjustment. Our study considered the extent to which the Family Stress Model explained toddler-aged adjustment ...

This article examines the decision of Hurricane Katrina evacuees to return to their pre-Katrina areas and documents how the composition of the Katrina-affected region changed over time. Using data from the Current Population Survey, we show that an evacuee's age, family income, and the severity of damage in an evacuee's county of origin are important determinants of whether an evacuee returned ...

Hurricane Katrina accomplished what no law enforcement initiative could ever achieve: It completely eradicated the New Orleans drug market. However, Katrina did little to eliminate the demand for drugs. This article documents the process of the drug market reconstitution that occurred 2005-2008 based on in-depth interviews and focus groups with predominately low-income drug users and sellers. B...

OBJECTIVES Children and adolescents are especially vulnerable to environmental exposures and their respiratory effects. Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, residents experienced multiple adverse environmental exposures. We characterized the association between upper respiratory symptoms (URS) and lower respiratory symptoms (LRS) and environmental exposures among children and adolescents affect...

Understanding human dynamics after a major disaster is important to the region’s sustainable development. This study utilized land cover data to examine how Hurricane Katrina has affected the urban growth pattern in the Mississippi Delta in Louisiana. The study analyzed land cover changes from non-urban to urban in three metropolitan areas, Baton Rouge, New Orleans-Metairie, and Hammond, for tw...