Andrew, Hurricane

Apparently, a future direction for studies into climatic instability and related catastrophic events, like Hurricane Katrina (13 years after the most powerful in the history of Miami Hurricane Andrew) in late August 2005 did huge economic damage, completely flooding New Orleans and destroying many buildings, is a search for connections between temperature variations at different scales in different basins... 

Hospitals and other health care facilities may further classify disasters as either internal or external. External disasters are those that do not affect the hospital infrastructure but do tax hospital resources due to numbers of patients or types of injuries (Cans, 2001). For example, a tornado that produced numerous injuries and deaths in a community would be considered an external disaster. Internal disasters cause disruption of normal hospital function due to injuries or deaths of hospital personnel or damage to the physical plant, as with a hospital fire, power failure, or chemical spill (Aghababian, Lewis, Cans, Curley, 1994). Unfortunately, one type of hospital disaster does not necessarily preclude the other, and features of both internal and external disasters may be present if a natural phenomenon affects both the community and the hospital. This was the case with Hurricane Andrew (1992), which caused significant destruction in hospitals, in clinics, and in the surrounding community when it struck south Florida (Sabatino, 1992), and Hurricane Katrina (2005) when it impacted the Gulf Coast, rupturing the levee in New Orleans (Berggren, 2005). 

Following Hurricane Andrew in south Florida, more than 1,000 physicians offices were destroyed or significantly damaged. What impact did this have on the burden of the health care system, and what kind of planning could have mitigated this effect ... 

Sabatino, R (1992). Hurricane Andrew South Florida hospitals shared resources and energy to cope with storm s devastation. Hospitals, 66(24), 26-30. 

Wolfson, J., Walker, G. (1993). Hospital disaster preparedness Lessons from Hurricane Andrew. Florida Public Health Information Center, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL. 

The first National Testing Laboratory, applying standardized tests to ensure safety of Red Cross blood products, opens in Dedham, Massachusetts. The Red Cross responds as Hurricane Andrew blasts Florida and leads to multi-year Red Cross aid. 

Coffman, S. (1994). Children describe life after Hurricane Andrew. Pediatric Nursing, 20(4), 363-375. 

Older people are made vulnerable by disaster in ways not readily apparent. Many older individuals and couples function more than adequately within the well-established services and schedules of an adult congregate living facility (ACLF) or retirement community. Thrust into the austere environment of a shelter, characterized by chaotic conditions and screaming children, many become helpless, suddenly needing assistance they never required before. Workers in Florida shelters noted such behavior after Hurricane Andrew in 1992. 

Emergency Mosquito Control Associated With Hurricane Andrew, florida and louisiana, 1992... 

Hurricane Andrew crossed south Florida on August 24, 1992, entered the Gulf of Mexico, and struck the Louisiana coast on August 26. In Florida, an estimated 25,000 housing units were destroyed and 37,000 severely damaged in a 200,000-acre area in the southern portion of Dade County in Louisiana, an estimated 25,000 housing units were destroyed or severely damaged by the storm, primarily in the coastal areas. Initial assessment of the disaster areas indicated a need for vector surveillance and control. 

Source Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (1993). Etner gency mosquito control associated with Hurricane Andrew—Florida and Louisiana, 1992. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 42(13), 240-242. 

Finally, a number of nontraditional practice sites have been described in which pharmacist have participated in natural disaster relief or as part of a humanitarian effort relief team. These nontraditional practices have included a pharmacy consultative service for wilderness emergency drug planning, pharmacy involvement in emergency preparedness/response, the provision of pharmaceutical services at a medical site after Hurricane Andrew in Florida, and the experience of several pharmacists providing service in Bosnia-Herzegovina. ° ... 

Zimakoff and colleagues pointed out the importance of reinfection on the transmission of Staphylococcus within families and concluded that a residual effect is desirable to help prevent reacquisition of staphylococci that are shed into the household environment on sheets, towels, etc. [28]. Recently in the United States, special occurrences affecting many households were shown to increase the incidence of skin infections. Quinn et al. reported on medical care of families affected by Hurricane Andrew in 1992 [29]. For 2 weeks following the storm there were noted increases in pediatric dermatological infections, including impetigo, wound infections, and cellulitis. 

B Quiim, R Baker, J Pratt. Hurricane Andrew and a pediatric emergency department. Ann Emerg Med 23(4) 737-741, 1994. 

Guntenspergen G. R. and Vairin B. A. (1996) Willful winds Hurricane Andrew and Louisiana s coast. Louisiana Sea Grant College Program and U.S. Dept. Interior, National Biological Service, Lafayette, Louisiana, 16 p. 

Guntenspergen G. R., Cahoon D. R., Grace J., Steyer G. D., Fournet S., Towson M. A. and Foote A. L. (1995) Disturbance and recovery of the Louisiana coastal marsh landscape from the impacts of Hurricane Andrew. J. Coastal Res. 21, 324-339. 

Major disasters such as Hurricane Andrew and the Northridge (CA) earthquake help us focus on assuring that information systems will work during emergencies. These events expose our weaknesses. They can also be rare windows of opportunity to learn from our mistakes and make improvements for the future. 

The NRC published lessons learned from the effects of Hurricane Andrew on die Turkey Point nuclear power plant during August, 1992. The NRC also performed inspections of off-site communication systems at several plants to determine their diversity and vulnerability to severe natural events. 

The safety in the Spanish nuclear power plants. Nuclear Safety Council, Spain, May 1992. NUREG-1474, "Effect of hurricane Andrew on the Turkey point nuclear generating station from August 20-30, 1992 USNRC and INPO, Washington, DC, USA, 1993. 

USNRC Information Notice 93-53, Effect of hurricane Andrew on Turkey point nuclear generating station and lessons learned, USNRC, Rockville, MD, USA, 1993. 

The success of the Internet has fostered huge economic growth. Businesses have learned to control the risks and make successful business models, even in the face of unreliable software and network connections. Insurance companies are beginning to write hacking insurance, although they are still pondering the possible impact of a widespread. Hurricane Andrew-like Internet failure. I think we have the tools and the experience to keep the Internet safe enough to get our work done, most of the time. 

Ross, M.S. et al.. Forest succession in tropical hardwood hammocks of the Florida Keys effects of direct mortality from Hurricane Andrew, Biotropica, 33, 23, 2001. 

The insurance and reinsurance industry has traditionally used historical loss records to price fire, life, theft, and other risks on which there is plenty of experience data, and catastrophes were originally considered in conjunction with more common hazards. Ignoring their specific potential loss contribution resulted in unforeseen insolvencies for the insurance industry in events like hurricane Andrew in 1992. In order to better assess catastrophe risks, companies needed experience data that wasn t available. 

---