Citation

Fox CE, Gibbons MC. J. Urban Health 2005; 82(4): 517-519.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1093/jurban/jti127

PMID

16251527

Abstract

The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the anthrax attacks just 1 week later, and, more recently, Hurricane Katrina have all sensitized our nation to some acute security vulnerabilities. Both September 11 and the anthrax attacks exposed Americans to the realities of terrorism on US soil. The federal response to these events was to regoranize and reprioritize government agencies leading to the passage of the Patriot Act and the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security. However, Hurricane Katrina reminded us that in the absence of terrorists and enemies, natural disasters can also result in mass causalties and threaten health, safety, and security.

Unfortunately, Katrina also grimly pointed out that despite significant planning and advance notice, protecting health in large impoverished urban communities presents unique challenges that, if unrecognized, will only serve to complicate intervention efforts. Although there are some things that authorities handled appropriately in the aftermath of Katrina, there were also several unidentified barriers that had a significant impact on the ability of authorities to intervene effectively. Had these issues been understood appropriately, they could have been more adequately addressed both before and after the hurricane.