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Long-Term Public Health Responses in High-Impact Weather Events: Hurricane Maria and Puerto Rico as a Case Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 November 2019

Charles W. Cange*
Affiliation:
City University of New York, Bronx, New York
Jacy McGaw-Césaire
Affiliation:
Independent Consultant, JacyGray Con
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Charles Cange, City University of New York, 250 Bedford Park, W, Gillet 422C, Bronx, NY 10468. (e-mail: cange@uw.edu).

Abstract

This statement responds to the public health challenges in Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria during September 2017. As a result of Maria, and to a certain extent Hurricane Irma, the territory sustained unprecedented damage. We call for a mid- and long-term public health response and research to assess the long-term impacts of high-impact weather events, such as Maria’s effects on Puerto Rico, including impacts on vulnerable populations’ environmental health and well-being.

Type
Policy Analysis
Copyright
© 2019 Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.

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