FL's County Health Department Epidemiology Hurricane Toolkit

The Florida County Health Department Epidemiology Hurricane Toolkit, developed by the Florida Department of Health, helps county health departments (CHD) plan for and carry out the epidemiologic responses to natural disasters.

The included tools are designed to be flexible to a wide range of situations, such as:

September 16, 2021

Short-term health impact assessment after Irma in French islands

In Saint-Martin (31 949 inhabitants) and Saint-Barthelemy (9 625 inhabitants) islands in the French West Indies, the surveillance system is based on several data sources: (1) a syndromic surveillance system based on two emergency departments (ED) of Saint-Barthellemy (HL de Bruyn) and Saint-Martin (CH Fleming) and on mortality (SurSaUD® network [1])); (2) a network of sentinel general practitioners (GP'™s) based on the voluntary participation of 10 GPs in Saint-Martin and 5 in Saint-Barthelemy; (3) the notifiable diseases surveillance system (31 notifiable diseases to individual case-specif

June 18, 2019

Utilizing Syndromic Surveillance for Hurricane Irma-Related CO Poisonings in Florida

On September 10, 2017, Hurricane Irma made landfall in Florida. Over 90% of Florida counties reported power outages as of September 11. During power outages, CO poisonings often occur due to indoor use of fuel combustion sources (e.g., cooking, heating) or generators for electricity. CO poisoning is a reportable condition in Florida; health care providers and laboratories are required to report suspected cases to the Florida Department of Health (FDOH). In Florida, approximately 202 cases of CO poisoning are reported each year (three-year average from 2014 to 2016).

June 18, 2019

Increased Seizure Activity in Florida Associated with Hurricane Irma, September 2017

On September 10, 2017, Irma made landfall in the Florida Keys as a Category 4 hurricane and subsequently tracked up the west side of the state. Due to the size of the storm, it impacted nearly all of Florida. The Electronic Surveillance System for the Early Notification of Community-based Epidemics (ESSENCE-FL), the state’s syndromic surveillance system, captures 98% of the emergency department (ED) visits statewide and has historically served a vital function in providing near real-time ED data that are used to track post-disaster morbidity and mortality.

June 18, 2019

Monitoring Out-of-State Patients during a 2017 Hurricane Response using ESSENCE

Syndromic surveillance is the monitoring of symptom combinations (i.e., syndromes) or other indicators within a population to inform public health actions. The Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) collects emergency department (ED) data from more than 70 hospitals across Tennessee to support statewide syndromic surveillance activities. Hospitals in Tennessee typically provide data within 48 hours of a patient encounter.

January 19, 2018

Responder Safety, Tracking, and Resilience — Georgia, 2016 –2017

During an emergency, the state of Georgia depends on public health staff and volunteers to respond. It is imperative that staff are safe before, during and after deployment. Emergency response workers must be protected from the hazardous conditions that disasters and other emergencies create1. In October 2016 and September 2017, Hurricanes Matthew and Irma caused widespread evacuation of Georgia residents, initiating a tremendous sheltering effort. Hundreds of public health responders were deployed to assist with sheltering and other aspects of the response.

January 21, 2018

Public Health Surveillance in a Large Evacuation Shelter Post Hurricane Harvey

Hurricane Harvey made landfall along the Texas coast on August 25th, 2017 as a Category 4 storm. It is estimated that the ensuing rainfall caused record flooding of at least 18 inches in 70% of Harris County. Over 30,000 residents were displaced and 50 deaths occurred due to the devastation. At least 53 temporary refuge shelters opened in various parts of Harris County to accommodate displaced residents. On the evening of August 29th, Harris County and community partners set up a 10,000 bed mega-shelter at NRG Center, in efforts to centralize refuge efforts.

January 25, 2018

Disaster Surveillance: Perspectives from Federal, State, and Local levels

In this panel, the presenters will discuss their perspective in responding to Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Hurricane Harvey made landfall on August 25th and over the course of 4 days dropped approximately 27 trillion gallons of water on Texas and Louisiana. The flooding that ensued was unprecedented and forced over 13,000 people into shelters. These individuals needed to have their basic needs -food, shelter, clothing, sanitation- met as well as their physical and mental health needs.

January 25, 2018

Primer: Emergency Legal Preparedness - Hurricanes Harvey and Irma

This Primer, published by the Network for Public Health Law on Friday, September 8, 2017,  provides a visual snapshot and a timeline on state and federal emergency declarations in response to Hurricane Harvey and Irma. 

September 27, 2017

How’s the Weather? Severe Weather Classifications in Syndromic Surveillance

Hurricane ‘Superstorm’ Sandy struck New Jersey on October 29, 2012, causing harm to the health of New Jersey residents and billions of dollars of damage to businesses, transportation, and infrastructure. Monitoring health outcomes for increased illness and injury due to a severe weather event is important in measuring the severity of conditions and the efficacy of state response, as well as in emergency response preparations for future severe weather events.

July 06, 2017

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