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Katrina and Vulnerability: The Geography of Stress
- Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved
- Johns Hopkins University Press
- Volume 18, Number 2, May 2007
- pp. 315-330
- 10.1353/hpu.2007.0029
- Article
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The immediate aftermath of Katrina focused the world's attention on the vulnerability of the urban poor and racial/ethnic minority groups in New Orleans. This vulnerability can be viewed in terms of site, the proximity of a neighborhood to a hazard, and situation, the social context of that neighborhood. Vulnerabilities, associated with demographic characteristics such as being poor, being a member of a racial/ethnic minority group, and being female, will strengthen the force of a disaster. This paper uses a site and situation approach to show how maps of the five main sources of disaster-related stress in New Orleans can be used to predict where counseling resources should be targeted.