Reed: When did you first realize the hurricane was going to hit Miami?

Dr. Kahn: Probably the twenty third, a day before the hurricane.

Reed: What preparations did you make?

Dr. Kahn: I was out of town, but on the way back and on the way back we purchased water and other necessities to ride out the storm. We also brought in things that would blow from outside.

Reed: What did you think it would be like before the storm?

Dr. Kahn: I didn’t know, having lived in Miami over twenty years I know that sometimes hurricanes have seemed to be aimed for us and they really didn’t come so I didn’t know if it would really come or not.

Reed: Where were you during Hurricane Andrew?

Dr. Kahn: In a closet with my wife and son where there was no windows.

Reed: What happened to you during the hurricane?

Dr. Kahn: Fortunately, no one in my household was injured, what happened was that my biggest responsibility was to my ten year old son and to make sure that he was o.k. and not too scared. Otherwise, we did protect the house, if we hadn’t there would be more water damage than there had been to the interior and otherwise, stay alert, listen to the radio which I did, and also to feel normal fear.

Reed: Were the effects of the hurricane worse or better than you predicted them to be?

Dr. Kahn: Much worse.

Reed: What did you do right after the hurricane, what were your thoughts?

Dr. Kahn: Well, when morning came, my wife looked out first she asked me and my son to come look outside because we wouldn’t believe what was there and I didn’t want to look from all the terrible noises we heard during the night, I knew it had to be bad, but of course I did come and look. I was astonished at how much damage there was to our surroundings outside.

Reed: What was your first week like after the hurricane?

Dr. Kahn: The first few days we really couldn’t go out we did talk to neighbors and compare damage reports with them, even people that we didn’t see very often and we decided that it would be foolish to stay home without water and electricity indefinitely because it was very hot and uncomfortable and so that after a few days we did go to Boca Raton and stay at a hotel for a few days. Those were some of the particular strategies we adapted and we again tried to pay attention to the feelings of our son because we knew that children are very vulnerable more than many adults are on such an event.

Reed: Did you receive any help during the hurricane?

Dr. Kahn: Not much, no, we eventually found someone to pay to clear debris and the only real, well I should back track a little, some people eventually came and wanted to clear out material that had fallen in the swimming pool and they did that without a cost to us because they were salvaging the material and selling it. We did get help from neighbors; however, one neighbor had telephone service before we did and allowed us to use the phone to call our very worried families. Another neighbor helped us to pry open the garage door that seemed to be stuck and then another neighbor helped us in terms of monitoring the situations with FPL.

Reed: When did you first come back to work?

Dr. Kahn: This happened on a Monday, I think it was the following Monday.

Reed: What was coming back like?

Dr. Kahn: Well, it was great to see my colleagues and to make sure everyone was o.k. We felt an urgency to try to see if employees needed psychological counseling at the time and most of us tried to help by counseling employees. It was awesome how quick the recovery was at the University (of Miami) and the amazing job that the administration did in responding to the needs of the campus. We tried to help by phoning students who were away and kind of concerned about some of the people such as the resident folks that had been extremely stressed. Also, I know I personally made use of a water tanker that had been sent down from the midwest to provide water for the staff.

Reed: Have you seen many students with hurricane related problems?

Dr. Kahn: Surprisingly students have not come in with that as a primary problem in most part; it’s often been a secondary problem but not a primary problem. So the answer would be no.

Reed: Have the number of students you counseled increased this year?

Dr. Kahn: Its hard to compare because we started the semester late and we usually do a census by semester but we have been extremely busy right from the beginning., Usually it is low in the beginning of the semester and then we begin to get busy perhaps around the third week of September but this year the students came back about the third week in September and we have been very busy throughout and our preliminary statistics have shown that the level of students we’ve been servicing has been quite comparable to the number of students we saw the entire semester last year.

Reed:Do you think the hurricane was a direct cause of the number of students you saw this semester?

Dr. Kahn: No, I think it is an indirect cause. Most of the students are very focused on other aspects of their lives and not so focused on the direct effects of the hurricane although I’ve noticed that some of the staff members that are students such as RA’s who were here during the storm, it was still effecting them.

Reed: Were there any visible changes in the students?

Dr. Kahn: No

Reed: Were there any visible changes in your colleagues?

Dr. Kahn: Oh yes, not just my immediate colleagues but throughout the University I noticed that many people want to keep talking about the stress from the aftermath of the storm. That is definitely clouding the attitudes of the staff members and faculty members.

Reed: Have you seen any positive outcomes of the hurricane?

Dr Kahn: I think that people have stuck together more, had a greater common share of interests, that Miami in a way has improved its self esteem by the way itscoped with the storm. I also think that people really appreciate the football team at the University if Miami this year for all the success they had and its dedication of the season to the victims of the hurricane has really been appreciated and enjoyed. A lot of charitable behaviors have come out in people and also people have been able to minimize some of the minor problems of every day life in the face of this disaster.

Reed:Is there anything else you would like to add that we did not already ask you?

Dr. Kahn: I think many questions are still open. As psychologists we know from previous disasters that we need about six months to a year to really gage the effects and that there are going to be a lot of bad effects from the holidays, families that have been displaced that cannot be back together again and that medical problems will develop up to a year after the actual events from all the accumulation of stress. The effects have been bad already but may continue to be severe.