Hurricane Katrina Â?? Crisis in the South – Media Tip Sheet

Note to Editors: The following experts are available to discuss disease and health issues, economic consequences including gas prices and energy futures and tourism, structural repair and recovery, grieving, children and trauma and other ongoing impacts of Hurricane Katrina on various aspects of survival and recovery. These experts are available for media interviews; this list is not intended to serve as public contact information. For more information or to contact a Colorado State University expert on any of the following topics, call the media relations specialist handling the story.

FLOOD INSURANCE AND REDUCING HURRICANE SURGES

Chester Watson, a Colorado State civil engineering professor from Baton Rouge, La., specializes in hydraulics and has worked on numerous flood insurance studies in the Gulf Coast region. He serves on the national technical review committee for the Louisiana Coastal Authority Project, which is restoring the marshes that could reduce hurricane surges. To speak to Watson, please contact Emily Wilmsen at (970) 491-2336 or Emily.Wilmsen@colostate.edu.

MOLD AFFECTING BUILDINGS, HEALTH

Doug Rice, senior researcher and director of the university’s Environmental Quality Laboratory, has been an expert witness for mold and mold remediation in New Orleans courts and has participated in more than 50 court cases in Louisiana and other locations. An international mold consultant for more than 15 years, Rice has worked with various industries, including health, insurance, construction and legal, to address mold remediation. He has examined 15 hotels in New Orleans and several hotels in Biloxi for mold issues. He also has worked within hospitals, apartment and condominium buildings, manufacturing facilities, health care and nursing facilities, universities, office buildings and individual homes. Rice will travel to the areas devastated by Katrina within the month of September, and expects to consult in the area into 2006. To talk with Rice, contact Dell Rae Moellenberg at (970) 491-6009 or dellrae.moellenberg@colostate.edu.

GAS PRICES AND ENERGY FUTURES:

Sanjay Ramchander, an associate professor in the College of Business, is an expert on energy and oil futures and what’s happening to gas prices as a result of Hurricane Katrina. His interests include financial economics and corporate finance. To contact him, please call Emily Wilmsen at (970) 491-2336 or Emily.Wilmsen@colostate.edu.

STRUCTURAL DAMAGE AFTER HURRICANE CAMILLE

Marvin Criswell, a civil engineering professor, can talk about structural damage that occurs after a hurricane. Criswell was part of a team of inspectors who were dispatched to the U.S. Army waterways experiment station on the Gulf Coast in the wake of Hurricane Camille in August 1969. To speak to Criswell, please contact Emily Wilmsen at (970) 491-2336 or Emily.Wilmsen@colostate.edu.

STRUCTURAL REPAIR FOLLOWING HURRICANES AND FLOODING:

Mike O’Reilly, a structural engineer at Colorado State University, has lived through and worked on recovery efforts after Hurricane Hugo and can discuss what can be expected concerning structural recovery and repair efforts after the hurricane and flooding. He also can discuss hurricane and storm surge water resistant building. To speak to O’Reilly, contact Jennifer Dimas at (970) 491-1543 or Jennifer.Dimas@colostate.edu.

WATER DRAINAGE IN THE WAKE OF A HURRICANE:

Terry Podmore, a professor of civil engineering specializing in irrigation and drainage, recently visited tsunami-affected areas in Indonesia and can talk about drainage in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. To speak to him, please contact Emily Wilmsen at (970) 491-2336 or Emily.Wilmsen@colostate.edu.

WIND DAMAGE

Bogusz Bienkiewicz, a civil engineering professor at Colorado State and immediate past president of the American Association for Wind Engineering, can talk about trends related to structural damage from wind over the past 20 years. He is working with Congress and federal agencies to undertake initiatives that will reduce structural damage due to winds. To speak with Bienkiewicz, please contact Emily Wilmsen at (970) 491-2336 or Emily.Wilmsen@colostate.edu.

DISEASE SYMPTOMS AND POTENTIAL FATALITY RATES:

Lorann Stallones, epidemiologist with public health training and professor in Colorado State’s Department of Psychology, can describe symptoms, case fatality rates, causes and reporting requirements for diseases expected to impact the South as a result of the recent hurricane tragedy. Stallones can also discuss suggested control measures that can be used to reduce the spread of diseases. To speak with Stallones, contact Emily Wilmsen at (970) 491-2336 or Emily.Wilmsen@colostate.edu.

INSECT-TRANSMITTED DISEASES:

Chet Moore, a senior researcher in the university’s Environmental Health Advanced Systems Laboratory, is an international expert in insect-transmitted diseases who has studied these diseases for more than 40 years. Moore can discuss the impact of insects on human health in the following weeks, including mosquito-borne diseases and mosquito-control measures related to the contaminated and watery conditions in Katrina’s wake. His expertise includes insect-transmitted diseases such as dengue fever, West Nile virus and eastern equine encephalitis. To speak with Moore, contact Dell Rae Moellenberg at (970) 491-6009 or dellrae.moellenberg@colostate.edu.

ENVIRONMENTAL EQUITY ISSUES AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE:

Melinda Laituri, associate professor in Colorado State University’s Department of Forest, Rangeland and Watershed Stewardship, researches vulnerability studies, emergency response and environmental equity issues. Laituri also is an expert on geographic information systems, specifically mapping areas of vulnerability and how technology can aid – and hinder – efforts to deal with disaster issues. To speak to Laituri, contact Jennifer Dimas at (970) 491-1543 or Jennifer.Dimas@colostate.edu.

IRRIGATION AND RIVER ECOSYSTEMS:

Ramchand Oad, professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, can discuss water resources for irrigated agriculture and river ecosystems in regions impacted by the hurricane. To speak with Oad, contact Emily Wilmsen at (970) 491-2336 or Emily.Wilmsen@colostate.edu.

IMPACT ON TOURISM:

Stuart Cottrell, coordinator of the global tourism concentration at Colorado State University’s Department of Natural Resource Recreation and Tourism, has researched and taught sustainable tourism development in the United States and Europe for more than 10 years, and has experienced firsthand the aftermath of natural disasters such as hurricanes while living in the Florida Keys in the 1980s. Disasters such as Katrina can be devastating to communities relying on tourism for their livelihoods. Cottrell believes nature and human resourcefulness have ways to reclaim and rebuild the physical environment and institutional structures; however, it is the socio and cultural resources and human capital that are difficult to replace. New Orleans and the Gulf coast will be rebuilt and life will return to normal at a superficial glance. Tourism will return to the French Quarter in the short term (within the year) and perhaps even draw new tourists to the area to see the aftermath of such a disaster. Yet challenges remain for those people living in coastal areas of the gulf coast states. Hurricanes are an annual event and a constant threat year after year. Although the built environment can be reconstructed – the power of nature remains in the minds and worry of those who live there. To speak to Cottrell, contact Jennifer Dimas at (970) 491-1543 or Jennifer.Dimas@colostate.edu.

IMPACT ON REAL ESTATE MARKETS:

Glenn Mueller, Director of the Center for Real Estate and the Loveland Commercial Endowed Chair of Real Estate in the College of Business, can talk about the recovery of real estate markets in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina and what markets in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama could face in the wake of this disaster. To speak with Mueller, contact Emily Wilmsen at (970) 491-2336 or Emily.Wilmsen@colostate.edu.

GRIEF, LOSS AND POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER:

Evelinn Borrayo, assistant professor of psychology at Colorado State University, is trained as a clinical psychologist and has experience in the areas of coping with grief and loss as well as recognizing and treating post-traumatic stress disorder. She can discuss any of these issues in relation to Hurricane Katrina. To speak with Borrayo, contact Emily Wilmsen at (970) 491-2336 or Emily.Wilmsen@colostate.edu.

DEATH AND GRIEF:

Alicia Skinner Cook , professor of human development and family studies at Colorado State University, has developed and taught courses on death, dying and grief, and co-authored the second edition of a textbook "Dying and Grieving:  Lifespan and Family Perspectives" used at colleges and universities across the country and can talk about these issues facing areas ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. Cook is a licensed psychologist and has a long-standing interest in intervention programs for the bereaved.  She was involved in the establishment of Hospice of Larimer County in Colorado in the late 1970s as a member of the board of directors and as the first director of education. She has published more than 40 articles and four books. To speak to Skinner Cook, contact Jennifer Dimas at (970) 491-1543 or Jennifer.Dimas@colostate.edu.

TRAUMA AND CHILDREN:

Karen Barrett, professor of human development and family studies, consults with parents and individuals working with children who have questions about what types of reactions they can expect from children and infants and what they can tell kids in traumatic situations. She also can talk about what families can do to help children and infants emotionally. Barrett’s main area of expertise is emotional development. To speak to Barrett, contact Jennifer Dimas at (970) 491-1543 or Jennifer.Dimas@colostate.edu.

COUNSELING FOR OLDER ADULTS

Tammi Vacha-Haase, an associate professor of psychology at Colorado State, can talk about the counseling needs of survivors of the hurricane, particularly older people in long-term care. To reach her, please contact Emily Wilmsen at (970) 491-2336 or Emily.Wilmsen@colostate.edu.

FOOD AND WATER SAFETY:

Pat Kendall, a food science professor and Cooperative Extension expert, can discuss food and water safety in an emergency. Kendall’s expertise includes food and water safety issues during and after a flood or power outage. Specifically, she can address how people can sanitize water, and how to determine if food is safe to eat after flood and power outage conditions. To speak with Kendall, contact Dell Rae Moellenberg at (970) 491-6009 or dellrae.moellenberg@colostate.edu.

-30-