Tracking New Orleans’ Recovery Post-Katrina: Early Results, Major Challenges, and the Need for Federal Leadership Mark VanLandingham, Ph.D. Thomas C. Keller Professor Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine Department of Global Health Systems and Development Presented at a Congressional Briefing on The Demography of Disasters: Informing Recovery Decisions. Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C., July 18, 2011

Overview Post-Katrina estimates of the population of New Orleans – a local versus national perspective Special challenges related to disaster research and the critical role of the Federal Government Selected results from the Displaced New Orleans Residents Study, and the Katrina Impacts on Vietnamese Americans in New Orleans Study Conclusions and Implications

The Population Association of American Meetings in New Orleans, April 2008 PAA is a non-profit, scientific, professional organization that promotes research on population issues.

New Orleans Pre-Katrina

New Orleans Pre-Katrina Source: Census Bureau

New Orleans, September 2005. Source: NASA.

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The Year That Was

Estimating Population Size in a Post-Disaster Setting: The Federal Response Special Processing Procedures for the Areas Affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) declared 117 counties to be disaster areas in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas as a result of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in August and September 2005, respectively. In an effort to produce the most accurate and effective estimates possible, the Census Bureau made several adjustments to its procedures for processing input data to accommodate geographic shifts of the population resulting from these natural events. These procedures are briefly outlined below…

Estimating Population Size in a Post-Disaster Setting: The Local Challenge Nagin urges census revision by Frank Donze, The Times-Picayune Friday March 21, 2008, 7:50 AM Mayor Ray Nagin expressed optimism Thursday that the U.S. Census Bureau will be persuaded to revise what he described as a low-ball estimate of New Orleans' mid-2007 population that could wind up costing the city as much as $56 million in federal assistance. "We are very confident that we can document our case successfully and overturn this," Nagin said during a news conference that also featured City Council members and leaders from the nonprofit, business and tourism sectors…

New Orleans’ Population Post-Katrina

Post-Katrina Population Characteristics: Methodological Challenges Some return; some don’t. Fussell Elizabeth, Narayan Sastry, and Mark VanLandingham. 2010. Race, Socio-economic Status, and Return Migration to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Population and Environment 31: 20-42.

Post-Katrina Population Characteristics: Methodological Challenges Some problems are caused by the disaster; others pre-date it. Some problems are immediate; others are delayed. Vu Lung and Mark VanLandingham. In press. Physical and Mental Health Consequences of Katrina on Vietnamese Immigrants in New Orleans: A pre and post-Disaster Assessment. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health.

Post-Katrina Population Characteristics: Methodological Challenges Careful and lengthy review facilitates quality but hinders responsiveness.

Implications The limits of a local perspective in a post-disaster context. The importance of accurate and timely post-disaster population data that are free from political influence. The critical role of the federal government in post- disaster research, especially with regard to funding. 18

Acknowledgements: Sources of Federal Financial Support for Post-Disaster Research Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child and Human Development, NIH National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities, NIH National Institute for Mental Health, NIH

For More Information Displaced New Orleans Residents Survey (DNORS) http://www.rand.org/labor/projects/dnors.html NIH Grant #s: R21HD057608; R01HD059106 Katrina Impacts on Vietnamese Americans in New Orleans (KATIVA NOLA) http://sph.tulane.edu/publichealth/mhosa/kativanola.c fm NIH Grant #s: R03HD042003; R21HD057609