Data collection and communications in the public health response to a disaster: rapid population estimate surveys and the Daily Dashboard in post-Katrina New Orleans.

Context: Hurricanes Katrina and Rita crippled the ability of the local public health community to provide healthcare services to the population of New Orleans. Lack of information about the city's population size and health needs and the absence of an adequate communications system posed considerable obstacles to the coordination of local, state, and federal public health assets.

Research: Acting to relieve the information crisis, personnel from the Health and Human Services Branch of the city of New Orleans Emergency Operations Center designed a project to collect population-based data through field surveys.