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Messing with Texas: The Katrina and Rita Experience

Dive into the complexities and challenges faced during Hurricane Katrina and Rita evacuations in Texas. Explore shelter operations, mental health and substance abuse responses, coordination difficulties, and glean valuable lessons for future disaster preparedness.

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Messing with Texas: The Katrina and Rita Experience

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  1. Messing with Texas: The Katrina and Rita Experience Dave Wanser, Ph.D. Deputy Commissioner for Behavioral and Community Health Texas Department of State Health Services dave.wanser@dshs.state.tx.us

  2. Ramping up…and up…and up • Initial projection of 25,000 evacuees • Eventually 450,000, give or take 25,000 • Evacuees were in 202 of 254 Texas Counties • The number of shelters changed day by day. The number of “official” shelters nearly a month after Katrina and a few days after Rita was 400, housing an estimated population of 9,900, mostly “special needs”. There were likely twice that number.

  3. Timelines • 8-28: Texas SOC activated to 24/7 status • 8-29: Katrina landfall • 8-29: DSHS ESC activated to 24/7 status • 9-1: Governor’s Emergency Declaration • 9-2: Presidential Emergency Declaration • 9-3: 1115 waiver submitted • 9-20: Rita evacuation begins • 9-24: Rita landfall • 10-21 ESC stands down

  4. SOC, ESC, JFO, Leaning Forward and Standing Up • Personnel assignment and deployment issues • Impossible to focus the fuzzy picture • Managing, or at least trying to manage communication and coordination. Issues of single point of contact within Texas and with SAMHSA • Federal, State and Local bedfellows

  5. Two terms sorely in need of a Makeover • Temporary Shelter • Special Needs

  6. Gimme Shelter • Mega-shelters • “Special Needs” shelters • Non-urban shelters • Non-sanctioned shelters • Constant flow in and out, opening and closing of shelters • Constantly changing assessments of populations and needs

  7. MH and SA Response • Just-in-time training in mega and special needs shelters • By 9-7 MHSA issues were among the main concerns in shelters • Management of state hospital access – opening sub-acute unit • Well over 1000 staff from MH and SA contracted providers were in shelters 24/7 • Red Cross policy barrier • MH versus SA response

  8. Best Guess Data • MH opened to service – 7,509 • SA opened to service - 1,828 • State facility admissions – 123 • 1115 waiver served – 11,272 (all services, as of October) • Why all these numbers are vastly under- reported

  9. Lessons • Have a plan and work the plan • Sustainability of training, organization and staffing • Public health and other governmental agencies awareness and openness to MHSA issues is lacking • Plan past the emergency phase • Understand the gaps between what the feds can do, what the state can do, and what locals will do • Appreciate the importance of policy coordination • Take care of your people • All disasters are local

  10. 5 things to do before the next disaster • Address confidentiality and data sharing issues • Develop a better menu of tactical tools, i.e. warm lines, public education • Update what we say and do about trauma, particularly to secondary contacts • Use technology to track evacuees • Develop and use an after-action report if you were an impacted state, read those from impacted states if you were not.

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