The Southern Medical Journal (SMJ) is the official, peer-reviewed journal of the Southern Medical Association. It has a multidisciplinary and inter-professional focus that covers a broad range of topics relevant to physicians and other healthcare specialists.

SMJ // Article

Editorial

The Katrina Public Health Debacle: Lessons Learned and Lessons Ignored

Authors: Neil J. Nusbaum, JD, MD

Abstract

Better planning for disaster relief is clearly important on a national basis, as the large loss of life in New Orleans following hurricane Katrina has made abundantly clear. Even apart from concerns resulting from manmade disasters, there are abundant ecological threats with the potential to damage large population centers. These range in cause and geography from the next earthquake in San Francisco, to the next hurricane in the Southeast, to the next volcanic eruption of Mount Saint Helens.

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