Evacuation and return of Vietnamese New Orleanians affected by Hurricane Katrina. Organization Environment

Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans East—where the main Vietnamese enclave is located— especially hard. By chance, shortly before this disaster, sociodemographic and health data had been collected for a population-based sample of working-age Vietnamese Americans living in New Orleans. One year after the storm, the authors reinterviewed nearly all respondents from the original sample who had returned to the area, which netted about two thirds of the original sample. Results show that returnees were more likely than those yet to return to have been employed before the storm, to have worked in the skilled sector of the economy, to have been married, and to have owned a home. Many problems experienced during the immediate aftermath of the storm, such as crowded and unsanitary conditions, had been resolved by the first anniversary; however, other problems remained, such as a continuing lack of information, lack of access to medical care, and fears of violent crime