As Hurricane Dorian reaches closer to landfall in Florida or southern Georgia this weekend, we’ve updated our list of resources to help reporters connect with public health officials and other sources.
Excessive flooding and damage to local health infrastructure means people will be dealing with the public health effects of the storm for a while.
Even if you’re not reporting on an affected location, this may be a good time to ask some questions of your local public health leaders and write about disaster preparedness issues. Here are some resources to help craft those questions:
Government agencies
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Hurricane Dorian
- Federal Emergency Management Agency: Hurricane Dorian
- U.S. Health and Human Services: Public Emergency: Hurricane Dorian. For media requests, contact HHS officials here
- National Hurricane Center: Hurricane Dorian
- Florida Division of Emergency Management and media inquiries
- Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency and media inquiries
- National Association of County and City Health Officials: Hurricane resource page (a great resource for finding local officials) For media inquiries: call Theresa Spinner: 202-783-5551
- GAO: Reports on public health emergency preparedness and government response and recovery efforts
AHCJ articles and tip sheets
- Here’s an earlier tip sheet on covering natural disasters, created by AHCJ Managing Editor Pia Christensen.
- Emergency preparedness among U.S. hospitals a potential story for your community
- Covering Florence: Resources on covering hurricanes and natural disasters
- Covering hurricanes: Resources and related stories to help your coverage.
- How hurricanes can result in the spread of infectious diseases.
- Report focuses on the challenges of disaster preparedness for older adults.
- Health system disaster preparedness and data backup: Are hospitals in your community ready?
- Reporting on the health impacts of flooding
- Puerto Rico’s elderly caught in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria:
- Seniors have special concerns in natural disasters like Sandy
- Some advice when interviewing victims of mental or other trauma
- Reporters’ preparation would decrease chaos in covering disasters
- Disaster coverage: Is your newsroom prepared?
- AHCJ urges reporters in disaster areas to avoid focusing on selves
Media coverage and nonprofit reports
- Poynter Institute: A quick guide to avoiding hoaxes and false news about Dorian (or any other hurricane)
- Center for Disaster Philanthropy: A resource for “informed disaster giving;” currently monitoring Dorian
- Google: Weather, hazards and emergency preparedness map
- Trust for America’s Health: Report on a funding crisis for public health and safety
- Trust for America’s Health: Report on protecting the public’s health in the face of diseases and disasters
- DART Center for Journalism & Trauma: Covering Hurricanes: Before, during and after the storm
- Poynter: How media got Hurricane Harvey right
- Time: Hurricane Harvey: Victims who turned to social media for help
- Healthcare Ready: A nonprofit organization supported by both public and private sector partners that works to ensure patient access to health care, including medicines, during times of disaster.
