Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas on August 25, 2017, resulting in 88 fatalities and more than $125 billion in damages to infrastructure. In Houston, flooding created a toxic mix of chemicals, sewage, biohazards, and 8 million cubic yards of garbage. The level of biohazard exposure, as well as injuries from trauma among persons residing in affected areas, was widespread and likely contributed to increases in emergency department (ED) visits in Houston and cities that received persons evacuating from the hurricane. Health scientists with Tarrant County Public Health worked with CDC to investigate the medical surge associated with Hurricane Harvey in Dallas–Fort Worth (DFW) metroplex EDs. Evacuees from 60 Texas counties with disaster declarations sought care outside the storm impact zone, many in DFW. The health scientists looked at spatial and temporal variation in ED visits to DFW hospitals attributable to the storm.
This study used the Texas Health Service Region 2/3 syndromic surveillance data from August 6, 2017, to September 23, 2017, to identify statistically significant surge. Data from three 11-day periods before, during, and after the storm were visualized to characterize magnitude, duration, and spatial variation of medical surge associated with Hurricane Harvey.
Results demonstrate the use of spatial and temporal methods for detecting ED surges associated with disasters. Analysis of syndromic data demonstrated both statistically and visually the expansive use of healthcare services extending outside the areas most affected by this natural disaster. Between August 25, 2017, and September 7, 2017, ED visits in the DFW area increased about 4% per day, totaling roughly 4,400 excess visits. Among these excess visits, at least 600 were attributed to evacuees (people from 60 Texas counties with emergency declarations due to Hurricane Harvey). Overall, ED visits by evacuees increased substantially—about 200% per day: ~600 excess visits Increased visits across all age groups 40% of visits from Harris County residents 25% of visits for gastrointestinal complaints Significant increase in nausea-vomiting-diarrhea (NVD) visits While most hospitals in the area experienced significant surge, at least 10 hospitals experienced a 600% E
This study highlights the utility of syndromic surveillance data for conducting timely analyses associated with disasters. Disaster preparedness efforts should be coordinated across geographic boundaries to account for population mobility during an event. Disaster planning includes the support your healthcare facility will provide to others. Hospitals within 1 to 4 hours driving distance from major disasters should prepare in advance of the storm for a medical surge. Public health agencies should improve surveillance methods to track disaster deaths and injuries associated with evacuees. Receiving area health departments should establish disease investigation dashboards. These dashboards could correlate syndromes with notifiable diseases and specific causes (for example, the National Vulnerability Database) to more rapidly react to deaths and injuries.