Lessons Learned: Disaster Preparedness for People With Disabilities

By Tom Scott

Deputy Executive Director Paul Tobin tells WCBS radio news reporter
Sean Adams about United Spinal’s shipment of emergency wheelchairs
and supplies to Baton Rouge, Louisiana in response to Hurricane Katrina’s
devastating impact on people with disabilities last year. Assistive
Technology Director Ziggi Landsman, standing in front of the United Spinal
bus, was one of United Spinal’s staff to make the trip.

Census Facts

U.S. Census data from 2004 show that 49.7 million (19%) Americans in the U.S., age 5 and over, have a disability. That’s approximately 1 in 5 U.S. residents. A majority of these individuals have difficulty in performing basic physical activities, such as walking and climbing stairs and are dependent on others, such as caregivers, to assist with daily tasks. This also includes thousands of individuals with spinal cord injuries and disorders. During a disaster, lack of preparedness in considering these factors could quickly unfold into a dangerous and life-threatening scenario for people with disabilities.

A Wake-Up Call

When national disasters occur, the disability population presents the greatest challenge to emergency personnel and is at a higher risk of not receiving proper aid or support. The devastating impact of Hurricane Katrina uncovered numerous failures within state and federal emergency management agencies and disaster relief organizations in coordinating their efforts to aid the affected population, especially those with disabilities. According to Louisiana officials, the storm claimed more than 1,000 lives in the state, and many of those were people with disabilities. The powerful images portrayed in the media resonated throughout the country and brought some much-needed attention for improved emergency response and disaster preparation plans for people with disabilities nationwide.

One of the unintended consequences of Katrina was that many individuals with disabilities were transferred to facilities and shelters out of their home state without their adaptive equipment and medical supplies. The lack of preparation for this mass influx of people with various disabilities to these facilities and shelters led to inadequate availability of equipment and supplies.

“With Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, we have unfortunately witnessed the fact of a lack of planning by people with disabilities for disasters that remove them from their homes, families, and care networks,” said Paul J. Tobin, deputy executive director at United Spinal Association. “It is vitally important that we as a community take the time to plan and prepare for the unexpected.”

DHS Report Shows Lack of Preparedness Nationwide

A recent Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report on nationwide catastrophic event preparedness states that, “the majority of the Nation’s current emergency operations plans and planning processes cannot be characterized as fully sufficient to manage catastrophic events as defined in the National Response Plan (NRP).” The report highlights the findings of The Nationwide Plan Review (NPR)—the most comprehensive assessment of catastrophic planning ever to undertaken in this country—and was designed and conducted by the DHS in conjunction with all U.S. States and Territories and 75 of the nation’s largest urban areas.
The NPR’s initial conclusions to improve disaster preparedness for states and urban areas include the recommendation that states designate a specific state agency to provide oversight and ensure accountability for including people with disabilities in the shelter operations process. The NPR also concluded that federal, state, and local governments should work with the private sector to identify and coordinate effective means of transporting individuals with disabilities before, during, and after an emergency.

“Dedicated officials across the country have, for the most part, done very well in planning for and responding to disasters of the scope and scale most common in the United States,” said George Foresman, DHS Under Secretary for Preparedness. “However, the findings of the Nationwide Plan Review unequivocally support the need to modernize planning processes, products, and tools, and to move our national emergency planning efforts to the next level needed for catastrophic events. It is a natural evolution towards working together as a nation to implement the lessons from seminal events such as the September 11th attacks and Hurricane Katrina.”

Ways to Protect Yourself—Self-Preparedness

Although state and federal agencies and organizations are making a more focused effort in correcting bureaucratic failures and improving disaster preparedness and response strategies, it’s important that individuals with disabilities realize that they can take their own action. Disasters can happen at any time with limited, or no, warning.

“Disaster preparedness is a tough issue and very dependent on disaster scenario, nature of disability, and type of equipment being used by a person,” said Ziggi Landsman, Director of Assistive Technology for United Spinal Association and editor of the top-rated Web-Guide To Wheelchairs & Assistive Technology, www.usatechguide.org. “We learned a lot when we joined in the relief efforts in Baton Rouge last September assisting people with disabilities affected by Katrina. While we’d like to rely on a government’s emergency plans, all people must be aware of their health care needs and have a personal disaster preparedness plan in place–ready to go at a moments notice.”

United Spinal suggests various steps wheelchair- and scooter-users can take to prepare for disasters.

• Keep emergency items with you at all times, including a patch and first aid kit, spare inner tubes, heavy gloves, tape, extra batteries, a flashlight, a whistle, a cell phone, etc.• Keep all of your important contact information with you, including health care identification and insurance cards, medical alert tags, important telephone and banking account numbers, medications, personal identification cards, and an emergency contact list

• Create an emergency fund or account if possible so that you readily have access to money in case of a disaster

• Always keep your wheelchair locked and close to you when not in use. If you have a caregiver, ensure that they keep your adaptive equipment within your reach at all times.

United Spinal also recommends that you complete a disaster preparedness personal assessment sheet. A printable example of one can be accessed at www.redcross.org/services/disaster/beprepared/assess.html. It will give you a good idea of the type of questions you should consider when preparing for a disaster. Upon completion of an assessment of your needs, your next step should be to create a support network. These important steps are included in the American Red Cross outline for disaster preparedness for people with disabilities, which is provided below:

1. Know what kinds of disasters could happen in your area and consider what your environment might look like after one occurs.2. Complete a personal assessment.

3. Create a personal support network of family, friends, relatives, neighbors, roommates, and co-workers who could assist you at a moment’s notice.

4. Make an emergency information list.

5. Compile a medical information list.

6. Keep at least a seven-day supply of medications on hand.

7. Install at least one smoke alarm on each level of your home and test them once a month.

8. Complete a summary checklist to make sure that your personal disaster plan is comprehensive.

9. Keep a disaster supply kit in your home, car, workplace, or anywhere you may spend your time.

10. Make your home or office safer by checking hallways, stairwells, doorways, windows and other areas for hazards that may keep you from safely leaving a building during an emergency.

For additional information, visit www.prepare.org/disabilities/disabilitiesprep.htm.

These are just a few ways you can prepare yourself for a disaster. It is important, however, to realize each disaster scenario is different, as are the needs of those affected. Not all of the information included in this article may be useful to you, but hopefully it will guide you in developing your own disaster preparedness plan.

Conclusion

Disaster preparedness involves the coordination of hundreds of individuals. Although we cannot predict the consequences of every disaster, the more discussion that occurs, and the better informed people with disabilities are, the greater the chance that more lives will be saved.

Ten Useful Links on Disaster Preparedness

American Red Cross— www.redcross.org/services/disaster/0,1082,0_603_,00.htmlDisaster Resources for People with Disabilities and Emergency— www.jik.com/disaster.html

Evacuation Preparedness Guide— www.cdihp.org/evacuation/toc.html

CDIHP Evacuation Preparedness Guide—www.cdihp.org/evacuation/toc.html

United Cerebral Palsy— www.ucp.org/ucp_channeldoc.cfm/1/11/11376/11376-11376/2903

University of California at Santa Cruz—ada.ucsc.edu/disasterprep.html

State of Louisiana, Disability and Preparedness—-www.ohsep.louisiana.gov/factsheets/preparepeoplewithdisabilities.htm

Area Agency on Aging (Florida), Creating a Disaster Preparedness Notebook— www.agingcarefl.org/aging/disaster

University of Idaho—www.ag.uidaho.edu/disaster/prepare/why.html

Independent Living Center— www.cfilc.org/