After Hurricane Katrina, there has been a nationwide emphasis on getting emergency preparedness information to residents in coastal areas. New York City is no exception. Researchers have just reported that the Costal Storm Plan (CSP) and Geographic Information System (GIS) Map are unclear to certain target populations.
When Hurricane Dennis passed North Florida on July 10, 2005, it caused a 10-foot storm surge in some areas along Apalachee Bay "” about 3 to 4 feet more than forecasted"” that couldn't be explained only by the local winds that conventionally drive storm surge. Now, scientists at FSU and the NOAA have found that the surge in Apalachee Bay was amplified by a "trapped wave" that originated off the southwest Florida coast.
The loss of life and homes due to Hurricane Katrina was a monumental blow. A new study introduces a new scale in which to classify hurricanes"”by postlandfall measurements"”that could aid in future decision-making, and hopefully, reduce the number of victims. The study is published in the latest issue of Journal of Coastal Research.
Almost half of adults in hurricane-prone states expect to lose power for 24+ hours this year according to a new industry survey. Loss of food, air conditioning, and communications top the list of what consumers are concerned about most. Standby generators can provide a long-term solution to power loss; the industry grew 566% between 2000-2005, fueled by hurricanes and aging power grids.
A cross-country donation of $5,000 was given to support Louisiana's and Mississippi's state soil display for the Smithsonian Soils Exhibit. Following the hurricanes, the donors in the Mid-Atlantic region knew their soil scientist counterparts in the South would be more focused on recovery efforts.
The eastern tropical Atlantic Ocean is out of range for U.S. hurricane-hunter aircraft, and forecasters have little skill predicting which systems brewing there will develop into hurricanes, atmospheric scientists say. So, to find out how some of the most dangerous hurricanes form, U.S. and French researchers are launching large, specialized balloons carrying nearly 300 instruments over wide swaths of Africa and the Atlantic Ocean.
U.S. and French scientists this month are launching specialized balloons carrying miniaturized weather instruments to detect hurricanes as they emerge over the far-eastern Atlantic, which is out of range of U.S. hunter-hurricane aircraft. The project, based in Africa, relies on new technology to provide early warning of potentially dangerous storms.
In the year since Hurricane Katrina struck the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, scientists and engineers have examined the full breadth of the storm's aftermath--from levee failures and ecosystem damage to weather predictions and human responses in the midst of catastrophe.
According to the most comprehensive survey yet completed of mental health among Hurricane Katrina survivors from Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi, the proportion of people with a serious mental illness doubled in the months after the hurricane compared to a survey carried out several years before the hurricane. The study also found that thoughts of suicide did not increase despite the dramatic increase in mental illness.
According to the most comprehensive survey of people affected by Hurricane Katrina, the vast majority experienced a significant loss in finances, income, or housing. More than one-third experienced extreme physical adversity and nearly one-fourth experienced extreme psychological adversity. These and other survey results come from interviews with the Hurricane Community Advisory Group.
Tropical Storm Ernesto is approaching Florida. Texas Tech University has a number of wind scientists with extensive experience researching hurricanes such as Rita and Katrina and can speak as experts about various aspects of these devastating storms.
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis experts discuss rebuilding Katrina in terms of data back-up for businesses; green housing for those affected by natural disaster; and cities at risk for natural disasters.
Saint Louis University experts can discuss what went wrong and where we stand today.
As part of an ongoing HUD research project to determine the best ways to remove mold from buildings, Anu Dixit, Ph.D., assistant professor of community health at Saint Louis University School of Public Health, visited New Orleans this past spring and found the mold problem was still overwhelming -- and still being neglected.
A natural disaster that hit St. Louis that caused extended electrical power outage reinforced lessons from Hurricane Katrina, says Dotti James, Ph.D., associate professor of nursing at Saint Louis University's Doisy College of Health Sciences.
Use the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina as a time to plan ahead to keep your food safe, says Kathy Kress, assistant professor of nutrition and dietetics at Saint Louis University Doisy College of Health Sciences.
Senior adults are more negatively affected than other groups by disasters such as heat waves and hurricanes, yet little is being done to help them, according to a recent public policy publication. Nina Tumosa, Ph.D., professor of geriatric medicine at Saint Louis University, can provide insight.
The perception held by many Americans before Hurricane Katrina "“ that the federal government would swoop in and save the day during a crisis "“ is a thing of the past, says Michael Thomas, MPH, associate director of the Heartland Center for Public Health Preparedness at Saint Louis University.
A team of University of South Carolina civil engineers who have studied the failure of the 17th Street canal levee in New Orleans say they have found a cost-effective and efficient way to halt flooding caused by breached levees.
Both physical and emotional needs of children need to be considered before, during and after a disaster. On the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is encouraging families, pediatricians and communities to prepare for potential disasters.
Aging families affected by Hurricane Katrina have experienced both physical and emotional problems in the aftermath of the disaster, and many yearn to "go back home," according to preliminary findings from a team of researchers.
Hurricanes have ravaged the U.S. Gulf Coast for the past three years "” a trend predicted to continue over the next decade. In response, a number of companies in the region have developed plans to deal with hurricanes before, during, and after their onset. Now, a Florida State University researcher in Tallahassee, Fla. has studied how the development of such plans affects employee health, wellbeing and willingness to participate at work.
When a hurricane strikes, authorities are increasingly turning to satellite images and computer-based maps. While these maps can be beneficial in planning response and recovery, their imprecise nature can result in people not getting the help they need. That's why FSU geography Prof Mark W. Horner has received a $64,760 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop new spatial models for disaster relief.
UMass Boston researchers are examining the impact of Hurricane Katrina's devastation on the lives of people from the Gulf Coast states one year later. Their research includes an examination of how low-income parents cope with the effects of Katrina; the relationship between race, class, and the area's devastation; and the realities for refugees and Vietnamese communities trying to rebuild their lives.
A shortage of ice is just one problem Mississippi Gulf Coast shrimp fishermen, who are predominantly Vietnamese, are facing.
Hurricane Katrina is acknowledged to be one of the worst natural disasters to ever strike the United States. The storm and its aftermath displaced more than 1 million people, mostly African-Americans, and unveiled issues of national disaster preparedness, socioeconomic status and race.
When hurricanes, wars or other emergencies force authorities to respond, three essentials top their list of must-haves: water, electricity and refrigeration.
Taking stock nearly a year later, experts from the Gulf Coast region will address the Hurricanes Katrina and Rita's ecological consequences and will offer insights on how ecological knowledge can help mitigate damage from future hurricanes.
Coordinated communication systems remain a huge problem a year after Hurricane Katrina, the U.S. Conference of Mayors reported this week.
A new book, ROAR OF THE HEAVENS, by journalist Stefan Bechtel, tells the complete story of Hurricane Camille, an unprecedented storm, following a handful of survivors through the great hurricane and its aftermath. In the process, the book elegantly explains the science of hurricanes, with the assistance of meteorologist Jeffrey Halverson, PhD, of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
It's hurricane season: Do you know where your storm is?
Florida State University in Tallahassee Fla., does not have a crystal ball, but it is developing a new tool that could possibly see the strength of future hurricane seasons. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has awarded the FSU Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies (COAPS) a $6.2 million, five-year grant to support the development of a model that may more accurately predict the number of hurricanes in an upcoming season, according to COAPS director emeritus James O'Brien, the Robert O. Lawton Professor of Meteorology and Oceanography and state climatologist. (VIDEO EMBEDDED)
The federal response after Hurricane Katrina suggests a new organizational climate is needed, according to an article in the current issue of Public Administration Review. Professor Charles Wise believes agencies need to take a more adaptive management approach.
Scientists flew into the eyes of Hurricanes Katrina, Ophelia and Rita last summer, as part of a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded project called RAINEX, the Rainband and Intensity Change Experiment.
In 2005, the west coast of Florida was subject to an unusually persistent and destructive red tide outbreak that researchers now think was caused by the record hurricanes of 2004-2005 and resulting nutrient-rich submarine groundwater discharges into coastal waters.
Mel Dubnick, professor of public administration at the University of New Hampshire, and an expert in public accountability and ethics, is available to discuss the Government Accountability Office's findings of fraud in aid following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
In the year after a hurricane, tornado, terrorist attack or other natural or man-made disaster, 30 to 40 percent of adults who were directly affected may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, according to a University of Michigan researcher.
University of South Florida researchers and professors are available to address a variety of hurricane issues. Insights cover preparation, evacuation, storm surge, socio-economic and psychological dimensions, including how last year's hurricanes affected Florida's elderly population.
It's summertime, and the living is breezy. But this year for many people in New Orleans and other areas hit hard by hurricanes in the past, the warm winds of summer may feel unusually threatening, as hurricane season begins June 1 and runs through Nov. 30.
Coastal residents could gain a better understanding of the destructive nature of severe weather as a result of research at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. UAH research scientists are developing an information system to provide forecasting of waves and storm surges with real-time measurements of winds, waves and currents.
The spate of hurricanes that hit North Carolina over the last ten years left behind ecological effects that lasted long after flood waters receded, according to an upcoming publication of a study by marine scientists from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and other institutions.
Use the ocean as a primary route for hurricane disaster relief say Clemson University researchers.
The most accurate hurricane forecasting model used by the National Hurricane Center over the last three years has been improved for the 2006 hurricane season to incorporate the phenomenon responsible for intensifying Hurricanes Katrina and Rita last year -- the Loop Current.
700-page report suggests mechanisms for levee failures.
In late April, Maine Republication Senator Susan Collins, chairwoman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, issued a report that recommended replacing FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, with a new organization. Calling FEMA "discredited, demoralized, and dysfunctional," Collins proposed creating a "stronger, more capable structure" within the Department of Homeland Security.
Environmental balance is challenge enough without a hurricane. Add the volatility of a storm, and all types of toxicity can occur. Clemson University researchers are the experts to turn to when hurricanes wreak environmental havoc.
As we saw with Katrina, post-hurricane disaster recovery and rebuilding can be overwhelming. To help ease the despair, Clemson researchers are leaders in relief communications and rebuilding.
Hurricanes happen, and another active season is predicted for 2006. Clemson University civil engineers are experts in protecting homes, low-rise buildings and bridges from storm damage.
Researchers looked at the psychosocial impact of Florida's Hurricane Charley on DeSoto County, a rural low-income community hit particularly hard during the 2004 hurricane season. They found that children's post-hurricane emotional distress was closely linked with their parents' stress levels and a significant percentage of families reported post-traumatic stress symptoms eight months after the hurricane.
With the presence of presidents and the scrutiny of national media, Tulane University's 2006 Commencement entered into history as an event that rode a range of musical and emotional notes and paid homage to both the students and the city of New Orleans for overcoming the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina.
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