Disaster Perspective from New Orleans

Unbelievble as it is, this weekend marks the one year anniversary of our move to New Orleans. My disaster involvement over the past year has been minimal, restricted to my first mandatory evacuation when Hurricane Gustav posed a threat. All of that is about to change. I've re-entered the disaster world through the Greater New Orleans Disaster Recovery Partnership (GNODRP).

I'm delighted to be among my disaster human services peers. I've missed close involvement with emergency management, having left State of Florida Division of Emergency Management in 2001. Green Cross Academy of Traumatology (GCAT) was my link to disaster mental health, leading to two major deployments: New York City after the September 11 attack, and Sri Lanka after the 2004 Asian tsunami. The latter was my last deployment to the field. Green Cross Incident Command handled GCAT's Hurricane Katrina deployment, and I provided oversight. Over the past several years my greatest desire was to minimize travel while making a contribution to the field. That desire is now realized.

My involvement with GNODRP will afford me the opportunity to learn emergency management from new perspectives. My federal and state service will serve as the backdrop for local service. My short-term recovery involvement (no more than six months) will serve as the backdrop for long-term recovery issues. I hope to give as much as I learn from this volunteer experience.

In this blog I will share what I've learned, in the hope that the lessons from Katrina long-term recovery will benefit others. Stay tuned!