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Sociodemographic and housing factors for flood and mold damage in the Greater New Orleans Area after Hurricane Ida

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 June 2025

Arundhati Bakshi Open the ORCID record for Arundhati Bakshi [Opens in a new window] ,
Alicia Van Doren ,
Andrew Saunders Berens ,
Colette Jacob ,
Amel Omari ,
Anne Foreman ,
Ju-Hyeong Park  and
Ginger L. Chew
Arundhati Bakshi
Affiliation:
Louisiana Department of Health, Office of Public Health, New Orleans, LA, USA Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA
Alicia Van Doren
Affiliation:
Louisiana Department of Health, Office of Public Health, New Orleans, LA, USA
Andrew Saunders Berens
Affiliation:
Office of the Associate Director, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, GA, USA
Colette Jacob
Affiliation:
Louisiana Department of Health, Office of Public Health, New Orleans, LA, USA
Amel Omari
Affiliation:
Division of Field Studies & Engineering, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Cincinnati, OH, USA
Anne Foreman
Affiliation:
Respiratory Health Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Morgantown, WV, USA
Ju-Hyeong Park
Affiliation:
Respiratory Health Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Morgantown, WV, USA
Ginger L. Chew*
Affiliation:
Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta, GA, USA
*
Corresponding author: Ginger L. Chew; Email: gjc0@cdc.gov
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Abstract

Objective

As extreme weather events become more pervasive due to climate change, identifying populations with lower access to resources becomes critical for timely mitigation efforts. Here we analyzed data from a survey conducted in Louisiana after Hurricane Ida to investigate demographic and housing characteristics of those vulnerable to home damage, flooding, and mold exposure after an extreme weather event.

Methods

The survey participants comprised a convenience sample of 167 total respondents, most of whom resided in the Greater New Orleans Area. Sociodemographic, housing, and geographic factors were considered that described the population reporting home damage, flooding, and/or mold due to Hurricane Ida compared with those who did not experience these outcomes from Hurricane Ida.

Results

Sociodemographic and housing factors predicting adverse impact from Hurricane Ida included race, retirement status, educational attainment, Social Vulnerability Index (SVI), type of home, and homeownership status. Of note, those whose homes had flooded prior to Ida had significantly higher odds of reporting home damage with Ida.

Conclusions

Of all the sociodemographic factors associated with Hurricane Ida damage including flooding and mold, a greater level of the SVI was most consistent and often had the strongest associations with these adverse outcomes. A public health focus on neighborhoods with higher SVI could help lead to strategies to mitigate and prevent exposure in future flood events.

Keywords

HurricaneDisaster Planningmold

Information

Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 19 , 2025 , e164
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc

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