Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • COVID-19
    • Articles & podcasts
    • Blog posts
    • Collection
    • News
  • Content
    • Current issue
    • Past issues
    • Early releases
    • Collections
    • Sections
    • Blog
    • Infographics & illustrations
    • Podcasts
    • Classified ads
  • Authors
    • Overview for authors
    • Submission guidelines
    • Submit a manuscript
    • Forms
    • Editorial process
    • Editorial policies
    • Peer review process
    • Publication fees
    • Reprint requests
  • CMA Members
    • Overview for members
    • Earn CPD Credits
    • Print copies of CMAJ
    • Career Ad Discount
  • Subscribers
    • General information
    • View prices
  • Alerts
    • Email alerts
    • RSS
  • JAMC
    • À propos
    • Numéro en cours
    • Archives
    • Sections
    • Abonnement
    • Alertes
    • Trousse média 2021
  • CMAJ JOURNALS
    • CMAJ Open
    • CJS
    • JAMC
    • JPN

User menu

Search

  • Advanced search
CMAJ
  • CMAJ JOURNALS
    • CMAJ Open
    • CJS
    • JAMC
    • JPN
CMAJ

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • COVID-19
    • Articles & podcasts
    • Blog posts
    • Collection
    • News
  • Content
    • Current issue
    • Past issues
    • Early releases
    • Collections
    • Sections
    • Blog
    • Infographics & illustrations
    • Podcasts
    • Classified ads
  • Authors
    • Overview for authors
    • Submission guidelines
    • Submit a manuscript
    • Forms
    • Editorial process
    • Editorial policies
    • Peer review process
    • Publication fees
    • Reprint requests
  • CMA Members
    • Overview for members
    • Earn CPD Credits
    • Print copies of CMAJ
    • Career Ad Discount
  • Subscribers
    • General information
    • View prices
  • Alerts
    • Email alerts
    • RSS
  • JAMC
    • À propos
    • Numéro en cours
    • Archives
    • Sections
    • Abonnement
    • Alertes
    • Trousse média 2021
  • Visit CMAJ on Facebook
  • Follow CMAJ on Twitter
  • Follow CMAJ on Pinterest
  • Follow CMAJ on Youtube
  • Follow CMAJ on Instagram
SynopsisN

Katrina scars tens of thousands psychologically

Laura Eggertson
CMAJ October 11, 2005 173 (8) 857; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.051177
Laura Eggertson
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Responses
  • Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

Tens of thousands of victims of Hurricane Katrina in the US Gulf Coast states are psychologically scarred from the trauma and will need help, says a Canadian emergency physician who travelled to Louisiana as part of Vancouver's Urban Search and Rescue team.

Figure1

Figure. “Policemen were weeping to see us,” said Dr. Mike Flesher. Photo by: Courtesy M. Flesher

“Many of the people that we saw had this vacant stare in their eyes,” Dr. Mike Flesher, 44, told CMAJ. “They were mentally and physically exhausted.”

Flesher was one of 45 team members, including 8 paramedics, who flew to Louisiana from Vancouver on Aug. 31 — 2 days after Katrina struck.

The Canadians were the first emergency responders to arrive at the emergency operations centre for St. Bernard Parish, a New Orleans suburb of 70 000.

The parish president hugged the team leader when they arrived. “Policemen were weeping to see us,” says Flesher, head of emergency at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital in BC.

The team was escorted by Louisiana state troopers as they rescued 119 people from their homes, treated about 150 others, and brought many evacuees to safety. The team also resupplied a local medial clinic.

The most serious health conditions involved people with chronic diseases complicated by dehydration, physical exhaustion and heat exhaustion. Others had minor scrapes that were a major concern because of the contaminated water.

Flesher could not do much to treat the psychological problems he saw, except to offer reassurance and some practical help. He hopes trained Red Cross volunteers will be able to offer counselling. “There was really no time for us to spend a lot of time with the victims.” The team returned to Canada Sept. 6.

Footnotes

  • Published at www.cmaj.ca on Sept. 13, 2005. Revised Sept. 16, 2005.

PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

Canadian Medical Association Journal: 173 (8)
CMAJ
Vol. 173, Issue 8
11 Oct 2005
  • Table of Contents
  • Index by author
  • Canadian Adverse Reaction Newsletter (pp 985-996)

Article tools

Print
Download PDF
Article Alerts
To sign up for email alerts or to access your current email alerts, enter your email address below:
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on CMAJ.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Katrina scars tens of thousands psychologically
(Your Name) has sent you a message from CMAJ
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the CMAJ web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Citation Tools
Katrina scars tens of thousands psychologically
Laura Eggertson
CMAJ Oct 2005, 173 (8) 857; DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.051177

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
‍ Request Permissions
Share
Katrina scars tens of thousands psychologically
Laura Eggertson
CMAJ Oct 2005, 173 (8) 857; DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.051177
Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Footnotes
  • Responses
  • Metrics
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • PubMed
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Applying the 2005 Canadian Hypertension Education Program recommendations: 4. Managing uncomplicated hypertension
  • A newborn requiring selective bronchial intubation
  • Does β-blocker prophylaxis improve survival after major noncardiac surgery?
Show more Synopsis

Similar Articles

Collections

  • Topics
    • Environmental issues

Content

  • Current issue
  • Past issues
  • Collections
  • Sections
  • Blog
  • Podcasts
  • Alerts
  • RSS
  • Early releases

Information for

  • Advertisers
  • Authors
  • Reviewers
  • CMA Members
  • Media
  • Reprint requests
  • Subscribers

About

  • General Information
  • Journal staff
  • Editorial Board
  • Governance Council
  • Journal Oversight
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Copyright and Permissions

Copyright 2021, Joule Inc. or its licensors. All rights reserved. ISSN 1488-2329 (e) 0820-3946 (p)

All editorial matter in CMAJ represents the opinions of the authors and not necessarily those of the Canadian Medical Association or its subsidiaries.

To receive any of the resources on this site in an accessible format, please contact us at cmajgroup@cmaj.ca.

Powered by HighWire