Pediatric Disaster Preparedness in the Wake of Katrina: Lessons to be Learned

Hurricane Katrina exposed numerous gaps in disaster preparedness when it stuck the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005. Lack of coordination, communication failures and delays in the recovery responses of local, State and Federal disaster authorities resulted in increased morbidity and mortality for both children and adults. This paper focuses on some of the longstanding pediatric disaster preparedness issues that were exposed in the recent experience with Hurricane Katrina, the important lessons to be learned, and offers a series of recommendations towards improving pediatric disaster readiness.