Brunkard Joan, Namulanda Gonza, Ratard Raoult
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA.
Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2008 Dec;2(4):215-23. doi: 10.1097/DMP.0b013e31818aaf55.
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.
We assessed Hurricane Katrina mortality data sources received in 2007, including Louisiana and out-of-state death certificates for deaths occurring from August 27 to October 31, 2005, and the Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team's confirmed victims' database. We calculated age-, race-, and sex-specific mortality rates for Orleans, St Bernard, and Jefferson Parishes, where 95% of Katrina victims resided and conducted stratified analyses by parish of residence to compare differences between observed proportions of victim demographic characteristics and expected values based on 2000 US Census data, using Pearson chi square and Fisher exact tests.
We identified 971 Katrina-related deaths in Louisiana and 15 deaths among Katrina evacuees in other states. Drowning (40%), injury and trauma (25%), and heart conditions (11%) were the major causes of death among Louisiana victims. Forty-nine percent of victims were people 75 years old and older. Fifty-three percent of victims were men; 51% were black; and 42% were white. In Orleans Parish, the mortality rate among blacks was 1.7 to 4 times higher than that among whites for all people 18 years old and older. People 75 years old and older were significantly more likely to be storm victims (P < .0001).
Hurricane Katrina was the deadliest hurricane to strike the US Gulf Coast since 1928. Drowning was the major cause of death and people 75 years old and older were the most affected population cohort. Future disaster preparedness efforts must focus on evacuating and caring for vulnerable populations, including those in hospitals, long-term care facilities, and personal residences. Improving mortality reporting timeliness will enable response teams to provide appropriate interventions to these populations and to prepare and implement preventive measures before the next disaster.
2005年8月29日，卡特里娜飓风袭击了美国墨西哥湾沿岸，给路易斯安那州和密西西比州的众多社区造成了前所未有的破坏。我们的目标是核实、记录并描述路易斯安那州与卡特里娜飓风相关的死亡情况，并帮助确定在未来灾害中降低死亡率的策略。
我们评估了2007年收到的卡特里娜飓风死亡数据来源，包括2005年8月27日至10月31日期间路易斯安那州及该州以外地区的死亡证明，以及灾难尸体处理行动响应小组的确认受害者数据库。我们计算了奥尔良、圣贝尔纳和杰斐逊教区按年龄、种族和性别划分的死亡率，95%的卡特里娜飓风受害者居住在这些教区，并按居住教区进行分层分析，以比较观察到的受害者人口特征比例与基于2000年美国人口普查数据的预期值之间的差异，使用Pearson卡方检验和Fisher精确检验。
我们确定路易斯安那州有971例与卡特里娜飓风相关的死亡，其他州的卡特里娜飓风撤离者中有15例死亡。溺水（40%）、受伤和创伤（25%）以及心脏疾病（11%）是路易斯安那州受害者的主要死因。49%的受害者年龄在75岁及以上。53%的受害者为男性；51%为黑人；42%为白人。在奥尔良教区，所有18岁及以上人群中，黑人的死亡率比白人高1.7至4倍。75岁及以上的人成为风暴受害者的可能性显著更高（P <.0001）。
卡特里娜飓风是自1928年以来袭击美国墨西哥湾沿岸最致命的飓风。溺水是主要死因，75岁及以上的人是受影响最严重的人群。未来的灾难准备工作必须集中于疏散和照顾弱势群体，包括医院、长期护理机构和私人住宅中的人员。提高死亡率报告的及时性将使应对小组能够对这些人群提供适当干预，并在下一次灾难来临前准备和实施预防措施。
