(NEW YORK CITY, Aug. 31) -- As new reports about the staggering damage and destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina keep coming in, the news is only getting worse.

As of the date of this article, water is still pouring into New Orleans. A total evacuation order has been given to the city, and the two breached levees that have been letting huge amounts of water flood the city have yet to be repaired. Biloxi, Mississippi, and other Gulf Coast cities are in almost total ruin. The extent of human suffering hasn't yet been totaled, but will be on a level never before experienced from a natural disaster in the U.S.

We urge all those in the healthcare community to keep monitoring the major news outlets about this continuing disaster, as the need for emergency medical help and money is already great, and is almost certain to grow.
One of the greatest threats is from bacterial-borne disease, as the vast amount of persistent stagnant water across several states and high temperatures are creating what one local official called "a bacterial gumbo." An epidemiologist foresees this as a long-term problem because the water - particularly in the New Orleans basin -- will not drain naturally, but has to be pumped out. The fear of typhoid and cholera outbreaks have been expressed by some on the scene.

We at DOTmed are endeavoring to contact some of our users in or near the affected areas to get first-hand reports of the devastation, and their assessments of what people can do to help.

We have put a link to many of the leading relief organizations in our Letter from the Editor. We encourage you to contact one or more of them.

Previous hurricanes have caused death and destruction, and future storms will do the same. It is the unprecedented size and scope of the Katrina disaster that mandates an unprecedented relief response be called for.

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