Katrina Survivors Still Face Difficulties One Year Later

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- A year ago today Hurricane Katrina swept over the Gulf Coast region of the United States leaving widespread damage in its wake. Residents of those areas suffered greatly from the damage, and many are still picking up the pieces today. A recent USA Today/Gallup poll followed up with 602 residents of the area who had been interviewed by Gallup last September and October as part of a sample of those hit hard by the hurricane.

The poll underscores the difficulties these people have been through -- nearly half say they lost everything or took a major financial hit. Roughly half of those surveyed have had to move at least once but more than a third have moved twice or more in the last year. About 1 in 10 respondents are still separated from family members that they were living with prior to Katrina. Only 1 in 6 say things are completely back to normal for them, but a majority is optimistic they eventually will be.

It should be noted that the data reported here do not represent the experiences of all those affected by Hurricane Katrina, just a subset of those who applied for Red Cross aid last year and who were able to be re-contacted this year. Only about half of those interviewed last year were successfully reached this year, and while the vast majority of those reached completed the survey not all did so. In general, it appears that those who were able to be contacted were fairly typical of all those interviewed for the survey last year. Still, it is important to use caution in projecting these results to larger populations.

Difficulties Post-Katrina

There has been some shift in terms of what poll respondents say is the most difficult thing to deal with now compared with their responses last fall. Today, 19% of respondents say dealing with damage, repairs, and clean up has been the most difficult for them, an increase from 13% last fall. In last year's survey, 14% said that the realization that they had lost everything they owned was most difficult, while only 6% say that today. There has been a modest decline in the percentage of those who say they are dealing with being separated from family members, but modest increases in the percentage who say their mental and emotional state, getting back to normal, and the availability of businesses and services.

What has been the most difficult thing for you, personally, to deal with since Hurricane Katrina hit? (OPEN-ENDED)

In addition to this general question about difficulties they have faced, the poll asked about several in particular -- the effect of the hurricane on their finances, mental well-being, and on their family.

Finances and Housing

Twenty-five percent of respondents say that they "lost everything" due to Hurricane Katrina, while an additional 24% say they "took a major financial hit but did not lose everything." Most of the rest, 38%, say they suffered some financial losses but nothing major. Bear in mind that because the initial sample universe was those who had applied for aid from the Red Cross, the respondents to this poll should have been among the worst hit by Katrina.

Eighty percent of those surveyed who owned homes pre-Katrina say their house is either completely repaired (31%) or livable even though it still needs repairs (49%). Thirteen percent say their pre-Katrina home needs so many repairs it cannot be lived in, and 5% say their home was damaged beyond repair.

The poll asked respondents how many times they have had to move since Katrina hit. About half of respondents did not have to move at all while half had to move at least once -- the average number of moves for the total sample is 1.3 times. Those who have had to move at least once report an average of 2.6 moves. Thirty-seven percent of all respondents have moved twice or more in the last year, including 11% who report moving four times or more.

How many times have you, personally, had to move since Hurricane Katrina hit?

Family

Hurricane Katrina not only tore apart buildings and houses, it also ripped through families, forcing many to separate in order to survive. Forty-seven percent of those interviewed for the current poll say they were separated from family they were living with at some point after Katrina. The vast majority had been re-united at the time of last year's survey. However, 17% of those surveyed were still separated from family members last fall. Less than half have since been reunited, and 10% of the people in this year's poll say they are still separated from family.

Stress from an experience as trying as a major natural disaster can spill over to other areas, such as family relationships. Eighteen percent of respondents say they are experiencing "a great deal" or "quite a bit" of difficulty in their marriage or other family relationships as a result of Hurricane Katrina.

The survey also asked parents with children under age 18 if their children have been negatively affected by Hurricane Katrina. More than half of the parents surveyed (56%) say their children have been affected.

The most common negative effects on children are: dealing with the loss of their home and having to live in undesirable conditions (24%), mental and emotional trauma from the experience of the hurricane (23%), difficulties related to changing schools (22%), and anxiety about severe weather (22%).

(Asked of those whose children affected in a negative way) In what ways have your children been affected? (OPEN-ENDED)

BASED ON 166 PARENTS WHOSE CHILDREN WERE AFFECTED IN A NEGATIVE WAY

Mental Well-Being

Hurricane Katrina survivors were asked, both last fall in Gallup's first survey on this topic and in the current survey, the extent to which they were experiencing trouble sleeping, feelings of anxiety, and feelings of depression as a results of the hurricane. The results show that fewer respondents now say they are experiencing any of these conditions.

Respondents who moved at least once as a result of Hurricane Katrina are much more likely than those who did not move to say they are experiencing these conditions.

Just 11% of all those surveyed say they sought professional counseling to help them cope with the situation. However, that percentage (23%) is much higher among those who report any of the difficulties above. (Forty-one percent of respondents report having at least "quite a bit" of difficulty with at least one of these four items.)

Getting Back to Normal

Clearly, most respondents are still dealing with Katrina a year after it happened. Only about one in six tell Gallup that things are now completely back to normal for them. A majority of survivors, 56%, say that things are not yet back to normal but are optimistic that they eventually will be, most of whom feel this will happen in the next few years. Twenty-two percent of all respondents surveyed say it will happen in the next year, while 19% say it will happen in the next one to three years, and 15% sometime after that. One in four respondents (26%) believe things will never return to normal for them.

For you, personally, would you say things -- [ROTATED: are completely back to normal, are not yet back to normal, but will eventually be, or will never be back to normal]?

How long do you think it will be before things get back to normal for you -- less than a year, one to less than three years, three to five years, or more than five years?

Survey Methods

Results are based on telephone interviews conducted August 3-17, 2006, with a sample of 602 adults, aged 18 and older, who participated in a Gallup survey of Hurricane Katrina victims last year.

The initial sample of 1,510 adults was drawn randomly from the American Red Cross database of applicants seeking assistance due to the effects of Hurricane Katrina. The vast majority of applicants provided a working contact telephone number to the Red Cross. Gallup did reverse phone lookups to obtain telephone numbers for the portion of the selected sample that did not provide contact numbers. Where necessary, Gallup interviewers tracked down updated telephone numbers when respondents had moved from their previous locations. Interviews were conducted on both land line and cellular telephones.

In the follow-up survey, Gallup interviewers were able to successfully contact the household where the respondent was now living in 767 out of 1,510 cases, and to complete interviews with 602 of last year's respondents.

Trend data are reported for those successfully re-contacted in Wave 2, as well as for all 1,510 Wave 1 respondents. Direct comparisons between last year's and this year's results should be done only among those re-contacted in Wave 2.

In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.