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Duke faculty from a variety of disciplines are available to offer their insights on some of the issues and challenges generated by natural disasters such as major storms.

LINGERING HEALTH ISSUES AFTER A HURRICANE –- Health threats from a hurricane linger long after the storm waters recede. Marie Lynn Miranda, an associate professor of environmental sciences and policy at the Nicholas School of the Environment and director of Duke’s Children’s Environmental Health Initiative, has used Geographic Information System (GIS) technology to create a special, Web-based Hurricane Response Portal that maps and identifies potential health hazards facing communities in the wake of major hurricanes. After Katrina, Miranda and her team mapped locations in the New Orleans area where high levels of toxic mold presented special dangers to residents and rescue workers. She can be reached at (919) 613-8023 or mmiranda@duke.edu.

GUIDEBOOK OFFERS MODEL FOR DISTRIBUTING RELIEF FUNDS -- Following Katrina, billions of dollars in relief flowed into the Gulf Coast region, but the distribution of those funds to the people who need them was slow, complicated, unfair and inefficient, says Jenni Owen, director of policy initiatives at the Center for Child and Family Policy. A guidebook that Owen co-authored, “Reaching Out to Those In Need: A Guide to Establishing a Successful Disaster Relief Fund,” recounts the steps taken to manage the more than $20 million in donations to the relief fund established in the wake of North Carolina's 1999 Hurricane Floyd. Owen, who played a key role in establishing and carrying out the distribution process for the funds, is available to discuss the keys to managing and distributing a rapid influx of dollars during a disaster. Her step-by-step guide -- complete with sample forms, press releases and other templates -- has been used by other states to establish post-disaster relief funds. She can be reached at (919) 613-9271 or jwowen@duke.edu.

SHOULD WE REBUILD BEACHFRONT COMMUNITIES? -- “You just cannot justify massive building and rebuilding near the most dangerous property in the United States,” says Orrin H. Pilkey Jr., a professor emeritus of geology. Pilkey and program associate director Andrew S. Coburn -- who took startling photographs of Katrina’s wrath during an overflight of the Gulf region -- have long warned of the pitfalls of construction in dynamic, ever-changing beachfront environments, often located on barrier islands that actually migrate in response to storms and rising sea levels. Pilkey can be reached at (919) 684-4238 or opilkey@duke.edu; Coburn at (919) 684-2206 or acoburn@duke.edu.

HOW TO PROTECT CITIES -– When decisions are being made on how best to rebuild and protect affected cities such as New Orleans, officials need to consider future climate change scenarios, such as sea level rise and increased storm intensity, says Jonathan Wiener, a professor of law and environmental policy. Wiener has written widely on U.S. and international environmental law and risk regulation, including numerous articles, and is co-author of the 2003 book “Reconstructing Climate Policy.” He can be reached at (919) 613-7054 or wiener@law.duke.edu.

IMPERILED WETLANDS AND THEIR VALUE -- Curtis Richardson, a professor of resource ecology at the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences and director of Duke’s Wetland Center, has studied wetlands loss in environmental hotspot worldwide, including southern Louisiana and Iraq’s Mesopotamian Marshes. He can be reached at (919) 613-8006 or curtr@duke.edu.

ARE NATURAL DISASTERS PUNISHMENTS FROM GOD? -- James L. Crenshaw, Robert L. Flowers professor of Old Testament at Duke Divinity School, has written extensively about the issue of theodicy -- human effort to justify the puzzling ways of the gods or God. He can be reached at (919) 660-3413 or jcrenshaw@div.duke.edu.

NEW ORLEANS/KATRINA

LOUISIANA RECOVERY EFFORTS -- James A. Joseph, leader in residence for Duke’s Hart Leadership Program, is the chair of the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation. He is available to discuss the work of the foundation, including the impact of grants. At Duke, Joseph teaches a “Leadership as a Moral Activity” course. He is a former U.S. ambassador to South Africa and a native of southwest Louisiana. To reach Joseph, call (919) 613-7321.