Continuing challenges from Hurricane Katrina on health planning and policy development efforts in the Mississippi Gulf Coast: Research and recommendations

Though Hurricane Katrina caused great damage in several states in August 2005, no area was hit as hard as the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. The area faced the strongest winds and storm surge, with 236 people killed, 67 missing, and an estimated $125-130 billion in damages. Entire towns were obliterated, with populations and businesses forced to relocate during an extended period of economic deprivation and community disruption. Individual and social costs have been immense and long-lasting. The storm and its impacts also revealed significant weaknesses in health preparedness at the levels of both local and state public health. Mississippi must develop appropriate and innovative health planning reforms in response. A study of the impacts of Hurricane Katrina on health care professionals and structures in Gulf Coast Mississippi, sponsored by a state public health organization, has been recently completed by the authors. It consists of document acquisition and analysis, a survey of 126 medical professionals in Gulf Coast Mississippi counties, and 18 in-depth interviews of individuals and groups involved in all aspects of the health response to Katrina. The results suggest the need for major changes in health planning at the local and state levels in Mississippi. State and local governments must enact standard home construction policies for all homes being built on the Gulf Coast, along with comprehensive emergency preparedness training that is tailored to the requirements of local, community-based and faith-based and national voluntary organizations. In addition, flood insurance must be made available to all home owners.