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Syndromic Surveillance of Emergency Department Chief Complaints Post-Hurricane Wilma, Broward County, Florida 2005

Description

On October 24, 2005, Hurricane Wilma made landfall on the southwest coast of Florida as a category 3 storm. The storm moved toward the northeast and passed through Palm Beach and Broward Counties before entering the Atlantic Ocean. Hurricane force winds and rain caused extensive damage to electrical infrastructure and traffic lights, and temporarily displaced thousands of residents. Power outages in Broward County affected over 90% of its 1.8 million residents, with some outages lasting >2 weeks. Boil water notices were declared for much of the county. Acute care hospitals remained open during this time, although services provided by health care providers in other settings were interrupted due to structural damage and power outages.

 

Objective

We used the syndromic surveillance system ESSENCE to describe the morbidity after Hurricane Wilma in Broward County, Florida.

Submitted by elamb on