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Hurricane Katrina and the Gulf Oil Spill: Lessons learned about short‐term and long‐term effects
Author(s) -
Osofsky Joy D.,
Osofsky Howard J.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
international journal of psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.75
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1464-066X
pISSN - 0020-7594
DOI - 10.1002/ijop.12729
Subject(s) - hurricane katrina , oil spill , community resilience , resilience (materials science) , natural disaster , fishing , work (physics) , psychological resilience , atlantic hurricane , disaster recovery , environmental planning , geography , psychology , environmental resource management , business , political science , environmental science , engineering , environmental protection , social psychology , meteorology , tropical cyclone , mechanical engineering , physics , redundancy (engineering) , law , reliability engineering , thermodynamics
The impact and lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina and the Gulf Oil Spill are described as an example of work done reflecting best practices and theory to gain a better understanding of risk and resilience for children and families. Hurricane Katrina, described as the worst natural disaster in the US history, resulted in traumatic separations of children and families and devastation of communities and schools. The impact was greater on families with fewer resources before the hurricane who were provided limited support to return and rebuild. Insufficient community support and economic resources contributed to prolonged traumatiaation and slow recovery. Many were still recovering from Hurricane Katrina when impacted by the Gulf Oil Spill. For families with multigenerational ties to the fishing and oil industries, the Gulf Oil Spill resulted in both cumulative trauma and increased risk. In implementing the behavioural health response, much was learned about promotive and protective factors for individual and community resilience. Services provided following the disasters were based on precepts of individual, family, and community resilience. To enhance recovery and support resilience, the development of regional coalitions across at risk areas provides important coordination before disasters occur for better preparation and response.