What has been the impact of Hurricane Katrina on the population of the Gulf States and their health status?
• According to the U.S. Census Bureau, an estimated 9.7 million people living in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi experienced hurricane force winds as Hurricane Katrina crashed into the Gulf Coast. • According to new data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, about 2.1 million people in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi lived below the poverty level. • Across the three states hardest hit by the storm, about 4.9 million people, or about 41% of the population, live in coastal areas. • About 3.2 million people live within the flood area – which encompasses southeast Louisiana (1.7 million), southern Mississippi (940,000), and southwest Alabama (420,000). Cities located along the Gulf that experienced flooding include Biloxi and Gulfport (Mississippi), Mobile (Alabama), and New Orleans (Louisiana). • Louisiana officials have said there were more than 1 million evacuees from that state alone, and Mississippi officials have said the total number of people displaced could b
