Hurricane Refugees Traumatized on Multiple Levels

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The hundreds of thousands of Gulf coast residents left homeless by Hurricane Katrina have not only lost their homes, possessions and possibly loved ones, they also have lost their sense of security, says Hilary Weaver, associate professor of social work at the University at Buffalo.

Whether they evacuated before the devastating storm hit, or fled to shelters during or after, the victims are facing trauma on a massive scale, with everything they knew and trusted now gone, she says.

Also problematic for the victims, Weaver says, is the fact that "some of the most vulnerable people were affected by this, people who were low on resources, people who were marginally housed."

And some, particularly those taking refuge at the New Orleans convention center, "face an additional loss of trust because of the question of whether the federal government has responded quickly enough" to provide food, water and transportation out of the city.

"If a reporter can get in to the convention center, why can't people with food and water for the victims?"

Even after their lives are eventually put back together, the victims will have "for years a lingering sense of a lack of security, lack of trust." Even a previously benign weather event such as a thunderstorm will be likely to bring "a total sense of panic," she says.

How well they recover emotionally from the tragedy will depend on the individual, Weaver says.

"Different people weather trauma differently. A person with a strong faith may be able to draw on that or a person with a close family that survived the hurricane."

What these refugees of the hurricane need now, she says, is basic services – food, water, safety and medicine.

The also need validation. "They need people to believe what has happened to them, to listen to them. There's almost a denial that this horrible devastation has happened to these people," says Weaver. "It's important for the rest of us to acknowledge what has happened."

Even for those who have been taken to shelters such as the Houston Astrodome, the trauma is not over. These people will find themselves further away from home and family, facing increased issues of the unknown. Some may suffer from survivor's guilt, especially if they have lost family and friends.

Even the more comfortable amenities could present a mixed blessing because they will have better access to information and a fuller understanding of what has happened.

"We'll need to remember that it's not over for them," she says.

Hilary Weaver
Associate Professor of Social Work
University at Buffalo
716-645-3381 ext. 241 (office)
hweaver@buffalo.edu