MORTALITY OF KAUAI RESIDENTS IN THE 12-MONTH PERIOD FOLLOWING HURRICANE INIKI

On September 11, 1992, Hurricane Iniki struck Kauai leaving all reside nts without electricity acid telephone services and damaging 70% of th e homes, This study examined the hypothesis that Hurricane Iniki incre ased the mortality of Kauai residents by comparing mortality data for the 5 years preceding Hurricane Iniki with mortality data for the 12 m onths immediately following. Although the overall mortality rate was i ncreased in the post-Iniki period, the only significant increase was i n the rate of diabetes mellitus-related deaths (relative risk = 2.61, 95% confidence interval 1.44-4.74). Hurricane Iniki did not appear to significantly increase the risk of dying of Kauai residents in the 12 months immediately following the disaster.