HURRICANE ANDREW-RELATED INJURIES AND ILLNESSES, LOUISIANA, 1992

To determine the extent and types of injuries and illnesses in Louisia na associated with or related to Hurricane Andrew, we gathered data fr om hospital emergency departments and coroner's offices on demographic variables, institution, nature and cause of the injury or illness, bo dy part affected, location, and date and time of the event. A hurrican e-related injury or illness was defined as one that occurred from noon on August 24, 1992, through midnight on September 21, 1992, as a dire ct or indirect result of the preparation for (preimpact), the impact o f, or the clean-up after the hurricane (postimpact). Nineteen parishes in south-central Louisiana that were most affected by Hurricane Andre w provided data from patients seen in emergency departments and report s from coroner's offices. Active, advance surveillance of this type pr omotes and facilitates the reporting of disaster-related health outcom es. Future planning for hurricanes should take into account the high r ate of cuts, lacerations, and puncture wounds, particularly during the postimpact phase.