Did Hurricane Katrina Reduce Mortality?

Abstract

The surprising finding reported in Deyugina and Molitor (2020) that a hurricane as devastating as Katrina reduced the mortality of residents of New Orleans merits close scrutiny because it is inconsistent with intuition, theory and prior evidence (e.g., Laditka et al. 2010; Rhodes et al. 2010; Fussel and Lowe 2014; Calvo et al. 2015). In this article, I provided a thorough review and critical assessment of the evidence provided by DM to support their conclusions. I find the evidence wanting.