Newswise — Experts from the University at Buffalo are available to comment on the various social, technological and economic aspects of Hurricane Katrina and its wake of devastation. Contact information and a summary of their thoughts is below.
ANTI-CITY POLICIES CONTRIBUTED TO KATRINA DISASTER
A federal policy of urban neglect is partly to blame for the extensive damage done to New Orleans by Katrina and the disastrous conditions left in its wake, according to Mark Gottdiener, Ph.D., an expert on urban culture and policy.
"The Bush administration has never cared much for cities, and by extension, the people who live in them," says Gottdiener, a professor of sociology. "We've written off urban areas. They are not even given what they need to function properly.
"This catastrophe resulted from the coming together of many elements, but one of them certainly is the Bush administration's failure to meet the needs of urban areas and to support agencies that respond to such crises."
According to Gottdiener, the federal government's urban priorities and response to the Katrina disaster have bordered on criminal neglect.
"Despite multiple warnings that the levees couldn't withstand a hurricane of Katrina's magnitude; despite this administration's assurances that the federal government is capable of handling a crisis of this magnitude; despite the drum beating over the efficacy of Homeland Security; and despite Bush's assurances that things are under somehow under control down there, thousands of American citizens are without food and water, homeless, sick or dying in place, with no help in sight," Gottdiener says.
"In short, there's been colossal lack of preparedness and leadership."
The Katrina disaster has shattered the assumptions of Americans who believe they are protected by our government," Gottdiener says. "Today it's a hurricane. Tomorrow it could be a bioterrorist attack or poisoning of a city's water supply," he says. "We are not safe."
Mark Gottdiener, Ph.DProfessor of SociologyUniversity at Buffalo
FLOODWATERS CARRY BACTERIA, THREAT OF WEST NILE
Intestinal diseases like diarrhea and dysentery, along with outbreaks of West Nile virus, are likely to occur because of floodwaters affecting New Orleans and other areas along the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, according to microbiologist Iain Hay at the University at Buffalo.
"There are short-term, medium-term and long-term health consequences to consider," says Hay, Grant T. Fisher Chair and professor of microbiology and immunology in UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and a member of the executive board of the North East Biodefense Center of the National Institutes of Health.
"The short-term problems are enteric (intestinal) diseases, such as diarrhea and dysentery, caused by bacteria, primarily E. coli, shigella and salmonella. The floodwater is contaminated by fecal matter. Being in it isn't a disease problem; you have to ingest the water. The fix is clean drinking water."
"In the mid-term," Hay adds, "the water is going to be a great breeding ground for mosquitoes, and I think we will see outbreaks of West Nile virus. West Nile is asymptomatic in most people, but the elderly are particularly at risk. There should be no other mosquito-born diseases.
"In the longer-term, as the water subsides, there will probably be mold-associated problems. Mold doesn't affect normal people, but it will affect people with allergies and the immune-compromised."
Iain HayProfessor of Microbiology and ImmunologyUniversity at Buffalo(http://www.buffalo.edu/news/fast-execute.cgi/expert-page.html?expert=410012)
HURRICANE REFUGEES TRAUMATIZED ON MULTIPLE LEVELS
The hundreds of thousands of Gulf coast residents left homeless by Hurricane Katrina have not only lost their homes, possessions and possibly loved ones, they also have lost their sense of security, says Hilary Weaver, associate professor of social work at the University at Buffalo.
Whether they evacuated before the devastating storm hit, or fled to shelters during or after, the victims are facing trauma on a massive scale, with everything they knew and trusted now gone, she says.
And some, particularly those taking refuge at the New Orleans convention center, "face an additional loss of trust because of the question of whether the federal government has responded quickly enough" to provide food, water and transportation out of the city.
Even after their lives are eventually put back together, the victims will have "for years a lingering sense of a lack of security, lack of trust." Even a previously benign weather event such as a thunderstorm will be likely to bring "a total sense of panic," she says.
How well they recover emotionally from the tragedy will depend on the individual, Weaver says. "Different people weather trauma differently. A person with a strong faith may be able to draw on that or a person with a close family that survived the hurricane."
What these refugees of the hurricane need now, she says, is basic services " food, water, safety and medicine. They also need validation. "They need people to believe what has happened to them, to listen to them. There's almost a denial that this horrible devastation has happened to these people," says Weaver. "It's important for the rest of us to acknowledge what has happened."
Even for those who have been taken to shelters such as the Houston Astrodome, the trauma is not over. Some may suffer from survivor's guilt, especially if they have lost family and friends. "We'll need to remember that it's not over for them," she says.
Hilary WeaverAssociate Professor of Social WorkUniversity at Buffalo
PLANNER-POLITICIAN BATTLES ANTICIPATED IN CLEAN UP
"The more innovative and effective the plan to rebuild New Orleans, the more resistance it will face from politicians," says urban planner Daniel Hess.
Hess, assistant professor of urban and regional planning in the University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning, says, "Urban and regional planners around the country have begun meeting online to discuss what will become of New Orleans. So on one level, planning for the future of the region has already begun.
"Urban planners have very strong opinions and a great deal of research to back up their warnings of the danger of building on this flood plain," he says, "but their best-laid plans will have to do battle with politicians, who tend to be contentious when it comes to forcing change on their constituents.
"Certainly planners will strongly oppose building in areas closest to the levees, but if developers decide there is a market for private residential and commercial buildings on the flood plain, then what?
"In any case, the first areas to be redeveloped in and around New Orleans are likely to be -- and should be -- in areas above sea level.
"On some level, even politicians must recognize that a terrible threat to the city come not only from hurricanes." says Hess. "Due to global warming, the sea level is expected to rise steadily over the next 80 years, bringing flood upon flood to coastal cities.
"I don't know what will happen, but this whole endeavor will be a fascinating look not only at what will work best here, but at who gets to decide what works."
Daniel HessAssistant. Professor, Urban and Regional Planning
ANGER BEGINNING OF UNTOLD GRIEVING BY KATRINA'S VICTIMS
Amid the unimaginable destruction and mountains of debris left by Hurricane Katrina, something else is growing among the victims that eventually will help them begin to heal: anger.
Thomas T. Frantz, Ph.D., a University at Buffalo expert on the grieving process, says that many of the victims have begun to grieve simply by expressing their anger at the shortcomings of relief efforts intended to help them.
But, he says, the victims can't yet mourn the losses they have incurred because they themselves are still struggling to survive.
"The government so far has been largely unable to function," continues Frantz, an associate professor and chair in the Department of Counseling, School and Educational Psychology in the UB Graduate School of Education.
"The main thing this is going to spawn is anger. We're going to see increasing anger at the cities, at the state and federal governments. That is, in a way, the beginning of a kind of a grief process, because anger is a part of grief. Anger is often a necessary step to go through to get to the sadness."
Cathartic grief for the hurricane victims is waiting in the wings as they focus their physical, mental and emotional resources on staying alive, Frantz says.
"At a time like this, grieving hasn't set in yet. Imagine if you are caught in a boat in a storm, you don't start grieving until you are on solid ground, away from dangerous waters."
Many of the Louisiana and Mississippi residents don't yet know what they have lost and are still waiting for news of missing relatives and the condition of their homes.
"Grief doesn't begin with uncertainty. There's a hierarchy of need there, with the first need being to stay alive, second, to find some food, shelter and clothing, and so on. In the aftermath, when you know you're going to have a meal and you're alive, then you begin to feel grief," Frantz says.
What is occurring among many of the victims is "some degree of psychological shock," he adds. "Shock puts emotions on hold; it mobilizes you so you can deal with the crisis at hand. In the midst of chaos, shock puts you in a problem-solving mode."
Yet "sometimes the shock is so great, it immobilizes you and you simply can't function at all. Those are the victims who are going to need people to carry them, to feed them, to help them somehow," Frantz says.
But once relief efforts achieve a stabilization of the stricken areas, the feelings will emerge and result in a second kind of flooding for these already battered populations.
"We're going to face the anger of many, many people who are angry about being ignored, not being helped. That anger will be widespread and I suspect that it will have political repercussions for a long, long time," Frantz concludes.
Thomas T. Frantz, Ph.D.Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Counseling, School and Educational PsychologyGraduate School of Education, University at Buffalo
HELPING HURRICANE'S VICTIMS GET BACK TO NORMAL
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- While Louisiana and Mississippi residents struggle to evacuate, to relocate and -- above all else, to survive -- many of the youngest among them face years of recovery from a variety of traumas Hurricane Katrina has dispersed upon them.
A University at Buffalo expert in recovering from the effects of stress spoke about what the hurricane victims can expect to endure in coming months.
Catherine Cook-Cottone, assistant professor and director of school psychology in the Graduate School of Education, said the Katrina catastrophe will produce many forms of suffering in all its victims, young and old.
While children, "in general are quite resilient," infants, toddlers and pre-teens are especially at risk.
"The younger children are, the more their reaction depends on the adjustment of their parents and those around them," she added. "If the environment and adults around them provide a safe, structured, and nurturing response to the disaster, the children have a better chance of faring well."
In general, the parents of these stricken children can help them adjust immediately.
"Children will be soothed by routine, structure, and normality. Getting them back to routine is typically considered good," Cook-Cottone said.
But for 185,000 Louisiana school-age children, and another 160,000 students from Mississippi, starting the school year at new, strange schools far away from their hometowns will be anything but routine or normal.
The teachers and school counselors at these schools will face a tremendous responsibility as key support figures for their new arrivals.
"This situation is difficult as many children will be attending alternative schools and schools at which the student-teacher ratio limits may be lifted to allow for the influx of the displaced students," Cook-Cottone said. "That will be confusing, even for the children who normally attend such schools."
Parents and adult relatives have several other ways they can work to allow for the children to make smoother transitions to new schools.
"The schools might want to consider allowing parents to accompany children in the mornings, and to provide a safe place for children to go during the day if they need to take a break," Cook-Cottone said.
For students "who are experiencing anxiety, but otherwise can make it through the day," the schools might provide a phone for these children to contact parents or relatives during school hours.
Another helpful strategy would be to "develop a buddy system, pairing new children with students who already know the school and can mentor them," Cook-Cottone said.
She added that schools might also integrate coping and processing activities into their curriculums, such as was done following the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States. Asking students to draw pictures, write stories or poems, and compile care packages to rescue workers can be very healing to the children, as well as to teachers and staff members.
Young students aren't the only ones to watch for signs of distress following such catastrophes. While "older children have developed their own psychological coping strategies and are not as tightly linked to the responses of parents and those adults around them," they are not necessarily immune to the effects of tragedy either, she said.
Catherine Cook-CottoneAssistant Professor, Counseling School and Educational Psychology
MEDIA WON'T DISCUSS 'RACE' IN KATRINA'S AFTERMATH
The media, especially TV media, are clearly uncomfortable discussing issues of race or racism in its coverage of the survivors of Hurricane Katrina, according to Elayne Rapping, a media critic and pop-culture expert at the University at Buffalo.
"We are being saturated with images of poor black people in one kind of trouble or another, but the media is not commenting on what is veryclear: the obvious racial disparity among the victims," says Rapping, a professor of American Studies in the UB College of Arts and Sciences.
According to Rapping, the media, generally speaking, like to show images of blacks doing well, but are reluctant to show the horrors of being black and poor.
"The media likes 'feel-good-about-race' stuff, but they avoid the glaring presence of race and class inequalities," she says.
Rapping says the sufferings of black and poor survivors of Katrina, being televised around the clock, may begin to inspire new public dialogue about racial inequality in this country -- much the same way media coverage of the O.J. Simpson trial focused discussion on issues of race and justice.
Elayne Rapping, Ph.D.Professor of American StudiesUniversity at Buffalo
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