Hurricane Katrina Changed People in Uncommon and Unknown Ways

Hurricane Katrina will be remembered for many things: Government response, preparation, planning, damage, aftermath, and on and on. One think Katrina will most likely not be remembered for is the psychological damage and changes the catastrophe caused to residents and rescuers alike.

Previously, it was not a priority to look at the psychological effect the storm had. More pressing issues were at hand such as returning the region to its former state as soon as possible, helping residents reestablish themselves, and preparing for the next possible storm. Least among their worries were the effects the powerful and destructive store may have had on those directly affected. Now that things are beginning to calm down and return to a semi-normal state, new research is being completed focusing on the mental destruction of the store.

Mental illness increase
Serious mental illnesses doubled as a direct result of Hurricane Katrina according to the Hurricane Katrina Community Advisory Group Survey, a group headed by the Harvard MedicalSchool. The major cause of this major jump in mental illness was the severe loss of life and disruption to the region. Katrina is believed to have killed around 1,600 people and directly affected the lives of an additional 2 million families

The survey
1,043 survivors were surveyed long after the hurricane had struck and things had begun to settle down. Out of the people surveyed, 11.3% were diagnosed with a serious form of mental illness. This marks a nearly 6% jump in the occurrence of mental illness compared to the 6.1% found to have mental illness before the storm struck. Out of those diagnosed, 19.9% had mild to moderate mental illness, a staggering increase of over 10% prior to the disaster and its aftermath.

In Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi a total of approximately 200,000 people will suffer a mental disorder such as post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. In addition, 50% of the survivors in Mississippi have experienced increased nightmares, yet another increase. Across the board, incidences of stress and depression have risen, and the nightmare increase has been seen in other states as well. This is to be expected as over 85% of survivors experienced significant financial loss and 30% experienced physical trauma in a severe form.

Surprising drop in suicidal tendencies
Despite the significant rise in the rate of mental illness, the rate of those contemplating suicide surprisingly dropped. The rate of those at least considering suicide following major disasters typically rises as a result of depression. Even though depression cases rose in this situation as well, suicidal tendencies fell despite overwhelming sadness. This is most likely attributed to the fact that during and following the disaster people had an increased feeling of closeness and bonding. They felt much more attached to family, community, and church. It was this feeling that gave them a reason to continue living and the feeling that they had more to lose.

Lingering Effects
Not all of Katrina's destruction has been cleared. The disaster was the largest in the history of the nation with an area the size of the entire being declared a disaster area. Over 100 people are still missing at the time of publication and much work remains. Those studied in the survey will continue to be monitored over the next seven years to track the mental illnesses they acquired following the storm and whether they alleviate over time.