Frequently Asked Questions
How do I contribute information?
If you have searched our database for a name and have not found it, please go to our Submit a Name page and fill out the form. Please note we will keep all contact information—yours and anyone else's that you submit—in strict confidence.
Can I contribute information by email or regular mail?
If it is not possible to fill out the online form, you may also send information by regular mail or email.
To do this, please download a form in Word format or in pdf format and fill it out.
The mailing address and email address are on the form.
If I contribute information, will it immediately appear on the Web site?
Unfortunately, no. Submitted information has to go through a verification process, and that takes some time to complete.
What happens to this information once I submit it?
This information is being collected as part of a research project headed by John Mutter at Columbia University, and will go into this online database. As noted above, any contact information will be kept private.
The information in this database will be studied, and the findings will help us better understand how natural disasters such as Katrina affects communities, and devise measures to save more lives in the future.
Someone I know who lived in the area affected by Hurricane Katrina died several months after the storm. Do you want to know about them?
Yes. What might at first seem to be an unrelated death could, in fact be linked to their experiences in being relocated or in having their medical treatment disrupted or simply the result of the traumatic emotional shock of seeing their neighborhood destroyed. We want to collect all of these stories so that we can begin to understand the many different ways that a natural disaster like Hurricane Katrina can affect an individual.
Is all the information on this site correct or official?
We have obtained this data from official sources, and from unofficial sources which have been verified. This is a project in process, so some details may not be exact. We are calling on communities to add/ update data when they can.
I noticed information that is incorrect. How do I update it?
If you notice incorrect information, please go to the page of that record and click on “Edit This Information” to submit edits. Please include your contact information for verification.
Are there different levels of verification for the information on the site?
There are three levels of verification:
Level 1: The information has been verified by one source
Level 2: The information has been verified by two or more sources
Level 3: The information has been verified by official sources
We have obtained this data from official sources, and from unofficial sources which have been verified. This is a project in process, so some details may not be exact. We are calling on communitites to add/ update data when they can.
What does it mean if someone is named "John/Jane Doe" in the database?
The names "John Doe" and "Jane Doe" are used as a placeholder name for victims whose identity is unknown. The name "John/Jane Doe" is used as a placeholder name for a victim whose name is unknown and whose gender was not included in the data we were given.