Newswise — 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 at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have just reported that the Costal Storm Plan (CSP) and Geographic Information System (GIS) Map distributed by the New York City Office of Emergency Management to residents about the hazards of hurricanes and where to go if they need to evacuate is unclear to certain target populations. The "East/Central Harlem Hurricane Preparedness Pilot Study" by Mount Sinai has found that the current GIS maps used to communicate vital information about hurricane emergencies to the public are not readable and usable by a significant portion of the Harlem community.
"It is so important to ensure the public has clear and understandable emergency preparedness information it can act on, especially to prevent the human disaster, we witnessed with Hurricane Katrina" , said lead researcher Dr. Christina Zarcadoolas, Associate Clinical Professor of Community and Preventative Medicine at Mount Sinai. "Our new research raises doubts that some of the vital information provided by OEM meets that goal for many New Yorkers. There is a real urgent need for more readable versions of critical maps for communicating emergency and other health information. We will continue to study this topic to help find out the best way to prepare all of our community members for emergencies in order to keep them safe and ready," said Zarcadoolas.
The NY Office of Emergency Management released the New York City Coastal Storm Plan (CSP) to the public as "Ready New York: Hurricanes and New York City Aug-Sept.2006" . The brochure version of the plan, which is also available on the web, is mailed to all residents living in designated hurricane evacuation zones in NYC. The Plan includes a large, fold-out map indicating what areas of the city are designated hurricane evacuation zones, degree of hazard of zone, and where the evacuation centers are located in these areas. Survey participants were 178 residents (18+, 134 English-speaking, 44 Spanish-speaking) randomly selected and interviewed at various locations throughout East and Central Harlem. Residents were asked a series of questions, some relating to the CSP Hurricane Evacuation Zone map.
Researchers at Mount Sinai estimate that roughly 160,000 residents of Central & East Harlem would not be able to find the evacuation center closest to their home, based on their own understanding of the hurricane evacuation maps. Census data shows that 46% of the adults in East Harlem have not completed high school and 38.2% live in poverty. The vast majority of surveyed residents who had not completed high school could not correctly determine if they lived in a hurricane evacuation zone, which zone, and the correct location of the nearest Hurricane Evacuation Center. Furthermore 40% of those who had not graduated high school could not use the map to locate where they lived.
When the researchers looked more closely they found that 83% of less educated participants could not correctly identify which evacuation zone they lived in. Conversely, those who have completed high school are 9.4 times more likely to be able to correctly identify their zone. 83% of those with less education reported that they did not know how to get to the evacuation center closest to their home. Even of those who had higher education (HS or some/college), 48% said they did not know how to get to the closest evacuation center.
Researchers also found that when it comes to trust in emergency preparedness officials there is reason for concern. Even before residents determined that the map was not clear and decipherable, 40% said they do not trust emergency directions from city officials. And in terms of overall preparedness, only 16% of all those surveyed said they have an OEM recommended "Go Bag" ready in their home. Many of these individuals listed very few items that are recommended by OEM to include in the bag.
MOUNT SINAI SCHOOL OF MEDICINELocated in Manhattan, Mount Sinai School of Medicine is internationally recognized for ground-breaking clinical and basic-science research, and innovative approaches to medical education. Through the Mount Sinai Graduate School of Biological Sciences, Mount Sinai trains biomedical researchers with an emphasis on the rapid translation of discoveries of basic research into new techniques for fighting disease. One indication of Mount Sinai's leadership in scientific investigation is its receipt during fiscal year 2004 of $153.2 million. Mount Sinai now ranks 25th among the nation's medical schools in receipt of research support from NIH. Mount Sinai School of Medicine also is known for unique educational programs such as the Humanities in Medicine program, which creates opportunities for liberal arts students to pursue medical school, and instructional innovations like The Morchand Center, the nation's largest program teaching students and physicians with "standardized patients" to become not only highly skilled, but compassionate caregivers. Long dedicated to improving its community, the School extends its boundaries to work with East Harlem and surrounding communities to provide access to health care and educational programs to at risk populations.
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