Disaster Response

Sample Answer

🌪️ Public Health Response to the Maui Wildfires (2023)

One recent public health disaster that garnered significant attention was the Maui Wildfires in August 2023, which devastated the town of Lahaina, Hawaii. The primary public health organization responsible for the initial response was the Hawaii Department of Health (DOH), working in conjunction with the Maui County Department of Fire and Public Safety and federal partners like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Initial Response and Priorities

In the immediate hours and days following the disaster, the Hawaii DOH focused on several critical, life-saving priorities:

1. Mass Fatality Management and Search & Rescue

Action: Working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Defense (DOD) to coordinate the morbid, large-scale task of search and recovery in the incinerated areas.

Priority: Identification and dignified handling of remains. This was crucial not only for humanitarian reasons but also for providing closure and necessary legal documentation to families.

2. Ensuring Safe Water and Sanitation

Action: Immediately issuing Do Not Use and Boil Water Advisories for affected areas due to the contamination of water lines by heat, smoke, and debris. This included potential benzene contamination from burned infrastructure.

Priority: Preventing waterborne illness outbreaks (e.g., cholera, hepatitis) and acute chemical exposure. The destruction of infrastructure made safe drinking water the most urgent public health need after rescue operations.