Food banks and disasters: New Orleans’ Second Harvest shows the vital role community food banks play during emergencies

Do you know the connection between food banks and disasters? It’s an important one, but it’s not something everyone is aware of.

Image: Win Henderson/FEMA

We wanted to learn about the topic from an expert, so the Get Ready campaign spoke with Natalie Jayroe, president and CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana.

Jayroe told us about the work of the food bank, which is the largest hunger-fighting organization in Louisiana and helps 210,000 people a year.

She also told us about the role it plays during disasters, such as the vital services it provided after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, when Second Harvest became the “largest food bank in the world’s history.” The food bank even has an agreement with state health officials to help out in the event of a pandemic.

“We are very comfortable with the fact that we are a disaster response organization,” Jayroe told us.
Find out more about the important emergency role food banks play and get tips on how you can help out. Read our Q&A with Jayroe online now.

Getting Ready for Hurricane Season

Today's post is by Hannah d'Entremont, a public relations and political science students at West Virginia University.  She's also one of APHA's summer interns!

Do you remember how bad Hurricane Katrina was? What about Hurricane Sandy? Both hurricanes — which hit New Orleans and the northeast U.S., respectively — caused a lot of damage. They also caused many preventable injuries and deaths.

Hurricane season in the Atlantic began on June 1 and ends Nov. 30. Hurricanes can be dangerous and life-threatening. So it’s important to understand ways to stay safe.

Hurricanes are rated on a scale of one through five, with one being the weakest and five being the strongest. Sandy made landfall in Cuba as a Category 3 hurricane, and Katrina was a Category 3 when it hit Louisiana. But all hurricanes are dangerous, no matter their category. Strong winds and debris can cause damage to people, homes and communities.

Super-storm Sandy making landfall in the United States.
Photo credit: Rob Gutro,

Goddard Space Flight Center

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts that this year’s hurricane season should include six to 11 named storms, three to six of which should become hurricanes. With that in mind, it makes sense to be prepared. Learn about your community’s hurricane warning system, evacuation routes and nearby hurricane shelters. (You should also know these things if you’re vacationing in an area at-risk for hurricanes.) Make a plan with your family. Write down emergency phone numbers and identify a meeting place in case you have to evacuate in a hurry and all family members are not together. Never ignore evacuation orders.

You should also have supplies such as food, water, medicine, safety items, personal care products and an emergency kit for your car packed and ready to go. Include paper maps in your kit in case electricity and cellphones aren’t working. Fill up your gas tank in advance if a storm is predicted to head your way.

For more hurricane tips, check out our Get Ready fact sheet on hurricanes.

Hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons! Oh, my!

Storm surge, heavy rainfall, flooding and high winds. These hazards of hurricanes sound scary, and they are. But what causes hurricanes to begin with?

When tropical ocean water warms during the summer, it heats the air above it.  Meanwhile, water evaporates from the ocean and forms clouds. In simple terms, hot air rising, clouds forming and cooler air falling is a lot of movement and energy. The more energy there is in the system, the more powerful and destructive the storm can be.

Last year we had the warmest year on record , and 2015 is heading the same way. Given the warming trend and affects of climate change, experts say we should expect more high energy storms.

Weather forecasters tell storms apart based on where they’re from. If a tropical cyclone forms in the Atlantic Ocean, it’s called a hurricane. If it forms in the West Pacific Ocean, it’s called a typhoon. If it forms in the Indian Ocean or anywhere, really, it’s called a cyclone.

Confused already? That’s OK. You can read more about them.

What’s not OK is being caught in one of these storms without supplies or a plan. Here are some things to remember:

• Stay tuned to weather updates until all danger is past.
• Aside from flooding from the rainfall, winds may push water toward the shore in a storm surge after the storm has passed and cause even more flooding.
• Depending on how strong the winds are, power lines, trees and roofs may be destroyed.
• Be prepared to evacuate. Don’t try to shelter in place if you are advised to leave.
• Even if evacuation orders are not issued, utilities may be out. Keep in mind you may lose power and water.
• If you evacuate, bring along hard-to-replace documents such as passports and copies of birth certificates, insurance policies and your lease or mortgage. If you shelter in place keep those documents in a waterproof container. A double zip-locked bag will work in a pinch!
• Don’t forget to take all prescriptions and medications for all family members, including pets.
• Speaking of our animal companions, remember to include plans for their shelter and evacuation.

APHA’s Get Ready campaign offers terrific tips for getting supplies and preparing a plan. Another great resource for hurricane preparedness information is Ready.gov, which also has tips for getting kids involved in hurricane planning.

Working with minority communities to prepare for disasters

Nicole Lurie, M.D., M.S.P.H.
Photo: U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response was created shortly after Hurricane Katrina. The office, which is part of the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, leads the nation in preventing, preparing for and responding to the health effects of public health emergencies. Among its charges is to make sure underserved communities are ready for disasters.

In our new Get Ready Report podcast, we spoke with Nicole Lurie, MD, MSPH, assistant secretary for preparedness and response, about why emergency preparedness is important for racial and ethnic minority populations. A report to Congress showed that Hurricane Katrina in 2005 had its greatest impact on communities where low-income minorities lived. People who are less educated, have low incomes and live in substandard housing often suffer more in disasters, “and those populations are, more often than not, likely to be racial and ethnic minority populations,” Lurie told the Get Ready campaign. Sometimes there are language or cultural barriers in a community, which can hinder preparedness and response.

“By the same token, minority populations are often more resilient than other populations,” Lurie said. “There are often very close social connections and ties in a community and those social connections are one of the most important things to promote community resilience and personal resilience.” Preparing and responding quickly to disasters can save lives and make the U.S. a healthier nation. Disasters such as the Joplin, Missouri, tornado of 2011 or Hurricane Sandy in 2012 showed the need to make sure communities are resilient, she said. That includes constructing buildings that won’t fall down and people can exercise in, giving people access to fresh food and making sure people can walk around their neighborhoods safely.

Listen to Get Ready’s podcast with Lurie to hear more about emergency preparedness or read the transcript.