Minnesota's Public Health Response to Hurricane Katrina
Help is available – from many sources – for survivors of Hurricane Katrina who have come to Minnesota. A variety of tools and resources are available for health care and emergency response professionals who are working with survivors, and many opportunities are available for professionals who wish to serve as volunteers in the health response to Katrina.
"We've launched two new search features designed specifically for finding information about Hurricane Katrina. You can search on any keyword using Katrina Search and get back results only from Hurricane Katrina-related web pages. Katrina People Search accesses several public databases to help you find info on friends or family members who may have been affected by the storm."
Message from Interim Dean John Finnegan, Jr.
The events of the past week in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast temper
our joy in a new semester, yet magnify for us the importance of public
health. Amid this tragedy, we are reaffirming our commitment to do the
best that we can in our respective roles and responsibilities.
Many of our faculty, staff and students are part of the national Medical Reserve Corps
network that is deploying volunteers to assist with the aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina. Also, the SPH is part of the network of
schools of public health nationwide that has agreed to help students of
the Tulane School of Public Health, which is closed for the semester
because of the disaster. Click here to get more information about our efforts. Click here to find out how you can help.
Minnesota Volunteers - 63 Red Cross volunteers from Minnesota are currently on the scene in Louisiana, Mississippi and other states affected by the disaster. We anticipate that another 109 Red Cross volunteers from Minnesota will be dispatched in the coming weeks.
Minnesota Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicles - Four Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs) from Minnesota have been dispatched to Hurricane Katrina disaster areas, including the ERV from the Minneapolis Area Chapter. Our volunteers are delivering food, water and other assistance to victims.
Survivors – The American Red Cross has provided shelter for more than 207,000 survivors.
Shelters – More than 700 Red Cross shelters are open in 24 states. The Red Cross also is coordinating the mass sheltering operation at the Houston Astrodome (along with other agencies), and is working with local partners to find additional facilities in which thousands of evacuees will find a safe, clean and comfortable environment.
Emergency Vehicles – More than 270 Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs) are now in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, with additional ERVs en route to the affected areas, to conduct food distribution. We are working to engage additional vehicles for food distribution to survivors.
Relief Workers – Thousands of Red Cross staff and volunteers across the country and from every part of the organization are working around the clock to serve the public need. More than 74,000 Red Cross disaster relief workers have responded so far.
Feeding – The Red Cross is working closely with several partners, including the Southern Baptist Convention, the Adventists and Second Harvest to provide emergency food to survivors and responders. More than 7.6 million hot meals and 6.6 million snacks have been served to survivors of Hurricane Katrina to-date.
Health & Preventative Care – The Red Cross is working with government and health services partners to develop health strategies and preventative measures to help the public and relief workers cope with the serious public health emergency.
Reuniting Families - The Red Cross, with support of the worldwide Red Cross Movement, has launched a Web site and hotline to help reunite loved ones. Persons looking for loved ones can go to www.redcross.org and click on “Family Links Registry” to register yourself, a missing relative or view the existing list of registrants. Those who do not have Internet access should call toll-free 1-877-LOVED-1S (1-877-568-3317).
The Red Cross Relief Effort So Far (As of September 7):
Minnesota Volunteers - 63 Red Cross volunteers from Minnesota are currently on the scene in Louisiana, Mississippi and other states affected by the disaster. We anticipate that another 109 Red Cross volunteers from Minnesota will be dispatched in the coming weeks.
Minnesota Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicles - Four Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs) from Minnesota have been dispatched to Hurricane Katrina disaster areas, including the ERV from the Minneapolis Area Chapter. Our volunteers are delivering food, water and other assistance to victims.
Evacuees – The American Red Cross has provided shelter for more than 159,000 evacuees.
Shelters – More than 650 Red Cross shelters are open in 17 states. The Red Cross also is coordinating the mass sheltering operation at the Houston Astrodome (along with other agencies), and is working with local partners to find additional facilities in which thousands of evacuees will find a safe, clean and comfortable environment.
Emergency Vehicles – More than 270 Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs) are now in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, with additional ERVs en route to the affected areas, to conduct food distribution. We are working to engage additional vehicles for food distribution to survivors.
Relief Workers – Thousands of Red Cross staff and volunteers across the country and from every part of the organization are working around the clock to serve the public need. More than 32,000 Red Cross volunteers have responded so far.
Feeding – The Red Cross is working closely with several partners, including the Southern Baptist Convention, the Adventists and Second Harvest to provide emergency food to survivors and responders. More than 4.6 million hot meals and 5.2 million snacks have been served to survivors of Hurricane Katrina to-date.
Health & Preventative Care – The Red Cross is working with government and health services partners to develop health strategies and preventative measures to help the public and relief workers cope with the serious public health emergency.
Reuniting Families - The Red Cross, with support of the worldwide Red Cross Movement, has launched a Web site and hotline to help reunite loved ones. Persons looking for loved ones can go to www.redcross.org and click on “Family Links Registry” to register yourself, a missing relative or view the existing list of registrants. Those who do not have Internet access should call toll-free 1-877-LOVED-1S (1-877-568-3317).
The Red Cross Relief Effort So Far (As of September 7):
Minnesota Volunteers - 63 Red Cross volunteers from Minnesota are currently on the scene in Louisiana, Mississippi and other states affected by the disaster. We anticipate that another 109 Red Cross volunteers from Minnesota will be dispatched in the coming weeks.
Minnesota Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicles - Four Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs) from Minnesota have been dispatched to Hurricane Katrina disaster areas, including the ERV from the Minneapolis Area Chapter. Our volunteers are delivering food, water and other assistance to victims.
Evacuees – The American Red Cross has provided shelter for more than 159,000 evacuees.
Shelters – More than 650 Red Cross shelters are open in 17 states. The Red Cross also is coordinating the mass sheltering operation at the Houston Astrodome (along with other agencies), and is working with local partners to find additional facilities in which thousands of evacuees will find a safe, clean and comfortable environment.
Emergency Vehicles – More than 270 Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs) are now in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, with additional ERVs en route to the affected areas, to conduct food distribution. We are working to engage additional vehicles for food distribution to survivors.
Relief Workers – Thousands of Red Cross staff and volunteers across the country and from every part of the organization are working around the clock to serve the public need. More than 32,000 Red Cross volunteers have responded so far.
Feeding – The Red Cross is working closely with several partners, including the Southern Baptist Convention, the Adventists and Second Harvest to provide emergency food to survivors and responders. More than 4.6 million hot meals and 5.2 million snacks have been served to survivors of Hurricane Katrina to-date.
Health & Preventative Care – The Red Cross is working with government and health services partners to develop health strategies and preventative measures to help the public and relief workers cope with the serious public health emergency.
Reuniting Families - The Red Cross, with support of the worldwide Red Cross Movement, has launched a Web site and hotline to help reunite loved ones. Persons looking for loved ones can go to www.redcross.org and click on “Family Links Registry” to register yourself, a missing relative or view the existing list of registrants. Those who do not have Internet access should call toll-free 1-877-LOVED-1S (1-877-568-3317).
