Hurricane Katrina: an environmental perspective

2006 ◽  
Vol 364 (1845) ◽  
pp. 2099-2115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ewen McCallum ◽  
Julian Heming
Keyword(s):  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
Observational Studies ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Theoretical Modelling ◽  
Loss Of Life ◽  
The Us ◽  
Hurricane Season ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Impact ◽  
National Hurricane Center

On 29 August 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast of the USA to become one of the worst natural disasters in the country's history. The forecasts and official warnings of the event issued by the US National Hurricane Center up to 60 h ahead were excellent and largely based on an ‘ensemble’ of model and statistical guidance. The Met Office Global Model is highlighted as one of the best performers for Hurricane Katrina. The active 2005 Atlantic hurricane season has fuelled the debate on the impact of climate change on tropical cyclones. Some recent publications have suggested that this impact is already apparent, while others are more cautious. Inconsistencies remain among many of the theoretical, modelling and observational studies. Despite the excellent warnings, there was a tragic loss of life as a result of Hurricane Katrina which has led to political questions concerning complex socio-economic issues, the state of flood defences and how to coordinate the reaction to and mitigate the impact of such monumental natural hazards.

Characteristics of Physician Relocation Following Hurricane Katrina

2007 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kusuma Madamala ◽  
Claudia R. Campbell ◽  
Edbert B. Hsu ◽  
Yu-Hsiang Hsieh ◽  
James James
Keyword(s):  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
General Medicine ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Bivariate Analysis ◽  
Fisher Exact Test ◽  
Exact Test ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACTIntroduction: On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall along the US Gulf Coast, resulting in the evacuation of >1.5 million people, including nearly 6000 physicians. This article examines the relocation patterns of physicians following the storm, determines the impact that the disaster had on their lives and practices, and identifies lessons learned.Methods: An Internet-based survey was conducted among licensed physicians reporting addresses within Federal Emergency Management Agency–designated disaster zones in Louisiana and Mississippi. Descriptive data analysis was used to describe respondent characteristics. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify the factors associated with physician nonreturn to original practice. For those remaining relocated out of state, bivariate analysis with χ2 or Fisher exact test was used to determine factors associated with plans to return to original practice.Results: A total of 312 eligible responses were collected. Among disaster zone respondents, 85.6% lived in Louisiana and 14.4% resided in Mississippi before the hurricane struck. By spring 2006, 75.6% (n = 236) of the respondents had returned to their original homes, whereas 24.4% (n = 76) remained displaced. Factors associated with nonreturn to original employment included family or general medicine practice (OR 0.42, 95% CI 0.17–1.04; P = .059) and severe or complete damage to the workplace (OR 0.24, 95% CI 0.13–0.42; P < .001).Conclusions: A sizeable proportion of physicians remain displaced after Hurricane Katrina, along with a lasting decrease in the number of physicians serving in the areas affected by the disaster. Programs designed to address identified physician needs in the aftermath of the storm may give confidence to displaced physicians to return. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2007;1:21–26)

Characteristics of Physician Relocation Following Hurricane Katrina

2009 ◽  
Vol 95 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-12
Author(s):  
Kusuma Madamala ◽  
Claudia R. Campbell ◽  
Edbert B. Hsu ◽  
Yu-Hsiang Hsieh ◽  
James James
Keyword(s):  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
General Medicine ◽  
The United States ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Bivariate Analysis ◽  
Fisher Exact Test ◽  
Exact Test ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACT Introduction: On Aug. 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall along the Gulf Coast of the United States, resulting in the evacuation of more than 1.5 million people, including nearly 6000 physicians. This article examines the relocation patterns of physicians following the storm, determines the impact that the disaster had on their lives and practices, and identifies lessons learned. Methods: An Internet-based survey was conducted among licensed physicians reporting addresses within Federal Emergency Management Agency-designated disaster zones in Louisiana and Mississippi. Descriptive data analysis was used to describe respondent characteristics. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify the factors associated with physician nonreturn to original practice. For those remaining relocated out of state, bivariate analysis with x2 or Fisher exact test was used to determine factors associated with plans to return to original practice. Results: A total of 312 eligible responses were collected. Among disaster zone respondents, 85.6 percent lived in Louisiana and 14.4 percent resided in Mississippi before the hurricane struck. By spring 2006, 75.6 percent (n = 236) of the respondents had returned to their original homes, whereas 24.4 percent (n = 76) remained displaced. Factors associated with nonreturn to original employment included family or general medicine practice (OR 0.42, 95 percent CI 0.17–1.04; P = .059) and severe or complete damage to the workplace (OR 0.24, 95 percent CI 0.13–0.42; P &lt; .001). Conclusions: A sizeable proportion of physicians remain displaced after Hurricane Katrina, along with a lasting decrease in the number of physicians serving in the areas affected by the disaster. Programs designed to address identified physician needs in the aftermath of the storm may give confidence to displaced physicians to return.

The dollar, trade, technology and inequality in the USA

1998 ◽  
Vol 166 ◽  
pp. 78-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bob Anderton ◽  
Paul Brenton
Keyword(s):  
Technological Change ◽  
Relative Wage ◽  
Skilled Workers ◽  
Wage Bill ◽  
Sudden Rise ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Trade Competitiveness ◽  
The Impact ◽  
High Skill

The US experienced a considerable increase in inequality between skilled and less-skilled workers during the early 1980s—a period which corresponds with a large temporary appreciation of the dollar. This article investigates the reasons behind this rise in inequality by evaluating the impact of trade with low-wage countries (LWCs) and technological change on the wage bill share of skilled workers (which is designed to capture movements in inequality arising from changes in both the relative wage and employment opportunities of the less-skilled). We find that an increase in US imports from LWCs—encouraged by the large appreciation of the dollar in the early 1980s—seems to explain some of the rise in US inequality in low-skill-intensive sectors, but that technological change (proxied by R&D expenditure) explains the rise in inequality in high-skill-intensive sectors. However, given that the timing of the sudden rise in US R&D expenditure corresponds with the appreciation of the dollar, it may be the case that the deterioration in US trade competitiveness during this period contributed to the rapid increase in the rate of technological change via mechanisms such as ‘defensive innovation’. Hence one might also argue that the technology-based explanation for the rise in US inequality could actually be a trade-based explanation.

Hospitalization Rates Among Dialysis Patients During Hurricane Katrina

2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 325-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Howard ◽  
Rebecca Zhang ◽  
Yijian Huang ◽  
Nancy Kutner
Keyword(s):  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Service Use ◽  
Hospital Admissions ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
The United States ◽  
Time Varying ◽  
Dialysis Patients ◽  
Hospitalization Rates ◽  
The Impact

AbstractIntroductionDialysis centers struggled to maintain continuity of care for dialysis patients during and immediately following Hurricane Katrina's landfall on the US Gulf Coast in August 2005. However, the impact on patient health and service use is unclear.ProblemThe impact of Hurricane Katrina on hospitalization rates among dialysis patients was estimated.MethodsData from the United States Renal Data System were used to identify patients receiving dialysis from January 1, 2001 through August 29, 2005 at clinics that experienced service disruptions during Hurricane Katrina. A repeated events duration model was used with a time-varying Hurricane Katrina indicator to estimate trends in hospitalization rates. Trends were estimated separately by cause: surgical hospitalizations, medical, non-renal-related hospitalizations, and renal-related hospitalizations.ResultsThe rate ratio for all-cause hospitalization associated with the time-varying Hurricane Katrina indicator was 1.16 (95% CI, 1.05-1.29; P = .004). The ratios for cause-specific hospitalization were: surgery, 0.84 (95% CI, 0.68-1.04; P = .11); renal-related admissions, 2.53 (95% CI, 2.09-3.06); P < .001), and medical non-renal related, 1.04 (95% CI, 0.89-1.20; P = .63). The estimated number of excess renal-related hospital admissions attributable to Katrina was 140, representing approximately three percent of dialysis patients at the affected clinics.ConclusionsHospitalization rates among dialysis patients increased in the month following the Hurricane Katrina landfall, suggesting that providers and patients were not adequately prepared for large-scale disasters.Howard D, Zhang R, Huang Y, Kutner N. Hospitalization rates among dialysis patients during Hurricane Katrina. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2012;27(4):1-5.

The speed of change and performance risk: examining the impacts of IT spending in the US hotel industry

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nan Hua ◽  
Tingting Zhang ◽  
Melissa F. Jahromi ◽  
Agnes DeFranco
Keyword(s):  
Business Performance ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Hotel Industry ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Performance Risk ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Revenue Volatility ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Speed Accuracy

Purpose This study aims to investigate the impact of the speed of change (trend) in information technology (IT) expenditures on performance risk indicated by revenue volatility in the US hotel industry. Design/methodology/approach To systematically investigate the impacts of IT expenditures on hotel performance risks, this study collects the same store proprietary data of 1,471 hotel properties from CBRE, a leading hotel consulting firm in the USA, from 2011 to 2017, with a total of 10,297 observations. Findings Econometric analyses are performed and results indicate a significant and positive impact of the speed of change of IT systems expenditures on the performance risk after comprehensively controlling for confounding factors following prior research. Originality/value With the increased importance of IT in day-to-day activities, hospitality business owners have started to quickly adjust their investment in IT infrastructure and superstructure to enhance their business performance. However, their fast-changing expenditures may introduce more risks to their businesses based on the speed–accuracy tradeoff, systems theory and the Schumpeterian Growth Model. This study is one of the pioneer projects that ever assessed the impact of IT expenditure and speed of change on performance risks of hotels.

MO545INSIDE ANEMIA OF CKD: ESTIMATING THE IMPACT OF POLICY INTERVENTIONS ON ANAEMIA OF CKD IN THE USA BY MICROSIMULATION MODELLING

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lise Retat ◽  
Laura Webber ◽  
Juan Jose Garcia Sanchez ◽  
Claudia Cabrera ◽  
Susan Grandy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Healthcare Costs ◽  
Severe Anaemia ◽  
Service Planning ◽  
Microsimulation Model ◽  
Model Framework ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Direct Healthcare Costs ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Intervention Scenario

Abstract Background and Aims Anaemia is a common complication in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and is associated with increased mortality, cardiovascular complications, reduced quality of life and increased use of healthcare resources. Mathematical modelling based on robust epidemiological and clinical data is a useful approach for predicting the future burden of disease and the impact of different intervention scenarios; this is important for health service planning. This analysis uses a microsimulation model, Inside ANEMIA of CKD, to predict the effects of a hypothetical intervention scenario that reduces the prevalence of anaemia of CKD on related healthcare costs in the USA from 2020 to 2025. Method A virtual cohort representing the US population was created within the Inside ANEMIA of CKD microsimulation model framework using demographics and epidemiological data drawn from the US Census Bureau, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. In the cohort, virtual individuals were ascribed an age–sex-stratified CKD status (defined by estimated glomerular filtration rate and albuminuria levels, as per international guidelines) and anaemia status (defined by haemoglobin level as mild, moderate or severe, as per WHO criteria) based on US prevalence data. Key comorbidities (type 2 diabetes, heart failure and hypertension) were also assigned, reflecting US-specific population statistics. Healthcare costs related to CKD and anaemia of CKD were taken from the published literature. The study modelled the effects on healthcare costs of a hypothetical intervention scenario in which the prevalence of moderate and severe anaemia is reduced by 20% per year from 2020 to 2025 compared with no intervention (baseline). In each scenario (i.e. intervention or baseline), the modelling analysis estimated healthcare costs related to CKD and anaemia (including inpatient, outpatient, pharmacy costs) for patients with moderate or severe anaemia of CKD. The model did not adjust for the potential costs of the intervention. Results Preliminary results predict that, with the hypothetical intervention, there could be 1.40 million fewer patients with moderate or severe anaemia of CKD in the USA in 2025 compared with no intervention (1.45 million versus 2.85 million). This represents a 49% reduction in cases of moderate or severe anaemia of CKD in 2025 with the intervention versus no intervention. The intervention is projected to lead to a reduction of approximately US$18 billion in annual direct healthcare costs in 2025 for patients with moderate or severe anaemia of CKD compared with no intervention (US$26 billion versus US$44 billion). Conclusion The Inside ANEMIA of CKD microsimulation model predicts that a hypothetical intervention which reduces the prevalence of moderate and severe anaemia of CKD would reduce direct healthcare costs. This suggests that interventions effective at reducing the prevalence of anaemia of CKD would help to reduce the economic burden on healthcare services.

The Impact of European and Chinese Soft Power on Regional and Global Governance

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
SEBASTIAN BERSICK
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
Global Governance ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Regional Security ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Impact

This chapter returns to issues raised by other authors in this section: the contrast between European, Chinese, and US perceptions of hard and soft power in the contexts of regional and global governance. Taking the ASEM process as a case, it shows how Europeans and Asians have approached the interaction from different institutional perspectives. Despite this, it sees ASEM as a process that reflects, and promotes, the advance of regional institutionalism in East Asia, adding an important dimension to the Europe–China relationship. This is then contrasted with the US strategy of dual divergence: a divergent internal strategy that rejects institutionalism for managing regional security; and an external divergent strategy that rejects the building of shared and reciprocal institutions between the USA and Asia. The chapter concludes that Europe's ‘balancing by convergence’ strategy has advantages over the USA's ‘balancing by divergence’ strategy.

scholarly journals Private Label and Macroeconomic Indicators: Europe and USA

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 91
Author(s):  
Eloy Gil-Cordero ◽  
Francisco Javier Rondán-Cataluña ◽  
Daniel Sigüenza-Morales
Keyword(s):  
Market Share ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Private Label ◽  
Private Labels ◽  
National Brand ◽  
Business Decisions ◽  
The Us ◽  
Macroeconomic Indicators ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Impact

In this study, we have analyzed the impact and evolution of some of the most important macroeconomic indices on the market share and value of private brands. The originality and objective of this work is the linkage of macroeconomic variables in European countries and the USA with the evolution of private labels in these countries. A sample of 19 European countries and all states within the USA has been collected over a 10-year period, including data on private labels and macroeconomic indices. The analysis of the panel data has been applied using the SPSS software through the Ljung–Box test. The most significant data from the sample study is that for GDP; we advised national brand managers to make a special communication effort in nations that offer a lower GDP within Europe for their volume and in value for the US. On the other hand, it was found that when the unemployment rate increases, the value of private label market share decreases for the US, but increases for Europe, in addition to other findings that will help organizations make different business decisions.

Cigarette and cigar sales in Hawaii before and after implementation of a Tobacco 21 Law

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Glover-Kudon ◽  
Doris G Gammon ◽  
Todd Rogers ◽  
Ellen M Coats ◽  
Brett Loomis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Geographical Area ◽  
Upward Trend ◽  
Food Stores ◽  
The Us ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Youth And Young Adults ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Product Sales ◽  
The Impact

IntroductionOn 1 January 2016, Hawaii raised the minimum legal age for tobacco access from 18 to 21 years (‘Tobacco 21 (T21)’) statewide, with no special population exemptions. We assessed the impact of Hawaii’s T21 policy on sales of cigarettes and large cigars/cigarillos in civilian food stores, including menthol/flavoured product sales share.MethodsCigarette and large cigar/cigarillo sales and menthol/flavoured sales share were assessed in Hawaii, California (implemented T21 in June 2016 with a military exemption), and the US mainland using the only Nielsen data consistently available for each geographical area. Approximate monthly sales data from large-scale food stores with sales greater than US$2 million/year covered June 2012 to February 2017. Segmented regression analyses estimated changes in sales from prepolicy to postpolicy implementation periods.ResultsFollowing T21 in Hawaii, average monthly cigarette unit sales dropped significantly (−4.4%, p<0.01) coupled with a significant decrease in menthol market share (−0.8, p<0.01). This combination of effects was not observed in comparison areas. Unit sales of large cigars/cigarillos decreased significantly in each region following T21 implementation. T21 policies in Hawaii and California showed no association with flavoured/menthol cigar sales share, but there was a significant increase in flavoured/menthol cigar sales share in the USA (7.1%, p<0.01) relative to Hawaii’s implementation date, suggesting T21 may have attenuated an otherwise upward trend.ConclusionsAs part of a comprehensive approach to prevent or delay tobacco use initiation, T21 laws may help to reduce sales of cigarette and large cigar products most preferred by US youth and young adults.

scholarly journals Attributing differences in the fate of lateral boundary ozone in AQMEII3 models to physical process representations

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (23) ◽  
pp. 17157-17175
Author(s):  
Peng Liu ◽  
Christian Hogrefe ◽  
Ulas Im ◽  
Jesper H. Christensen ◽  
Johannes Bieser ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Turbulent Mixing ◽  
Dry Deposition ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Vertical Mixing ◽  
Primary Role ◽  
Southeastern Us ◽  
The Us ◽  
Vertical Grid ◽  
Vertical Turbulent Mixing ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Increasing emphasis has been placed on characterizing the contributions and the uncertainties of ozone imported from outside the US. In chemical transport models (CTMs), the ozone transported through lateral boundaries (referred to as LB ozone hereafter) undergoes a series of physical and chemical processes in CTMs, which are important sources of the uncertainty in estimating the impact of LB ozone on ozone levels at the surface. By implementing inert tracers for LB ozone, the study seeks to better understand how differing representations of physical processes in regional CTMs may lead to differences in the simulated LB ozone that eventually reaches the surface across the US. For all the simulations in this study (including WRF∕CMAQ, WRF∕CAMx, COSMO-CLM∕CMAQ, and WRF∕DEHM), three chemically inert tracers that generally represent the altitude ranges of the planetary boundary layer (BC1), free troposphere (BC2), and upper troposphere–lower stratosphere (BC3) are tracked to assess the simulated impact of LB specification. Comparing WRF∕CAMx with WRF∕CMAQ, their differences in vertical grid structure explain 10 %–60 % of their seasonally averaged differences in inert tracers at the surface. Vertical turbulent mixing is the primary contributor to the remaining differences in inert tracers across the US in all seasons. Stronger vertical mixing in WRF∕CAMx brings more BC2 downward, leading to higher BCT (BCT=BC1+BC2+BC3) and BC2∕BCT at the surface in WRF∕CAMx. Meanwhile, the differences in inert tracers due to vertical mixing are partially counteracted by their difference in sub-grid cloud mixing over the southeastern US and the Gulf Coast region during summer. The process of dry deposition adds extra gradients to the spatial distribution of the differences in DM8A BCT by 5–10 ppb during winter and summer. COSMO-CLM∕CMAQ and WRF∕CMAQ show similar performance in inert tracers both at the surface and aloft through most seasons, which suggests similarity between the two models at process level. The largest difference is found in summer. Sub-grid cloud mixing plays a primary role in their differences in inert tracers over the southeastern US and the oceans in summer. Our analysis of the vertical profiles of inert tracers also suggests that the model differences in dry deposition over certain regions are offset by the model differences in vertical turbulent mixing, leading to small differences in inert tracers at the surface in these regions.

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