With the ever-present threat of natural disasters like floods, hurricanes, and tornados – alongside the growing threat of the climate crisis – disabled people are being forced to prepare for the worst-case scenario more and more often.
California’s wildfires have shed light once again on the issues faced by those with disabilities when it comes to fleeing these natural disasters. As Krystal Velazquez wrote in her essay for Environmental Health News, “Having a disability should not be a death sentence, but it often is when catastrophe strikes.”
A Buzzfeed News analysis after the Texas outages revealed that the estimated death toll at the time of their report was 500 more than the official count of 150. As they wrote at the time, “Many of the uncounted victims of the storm and power outages were already medically vulnerable — with chronic conditions including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and kidney problems. But without the intense cold and stress, they experienced during the crisis, many of these people could still be alive today.” A Texas Tribune piece found that the average household that lost power during the outages did so for 42 hours. That’s more than enough time to drain a ventilator’s backup battery, render a stock of insulin unusable, and leave many an accessibility device as little more than window dressing.
These issues are often reported on as a home-based problem, but they can happen at work as well. In 2017, a Canadian woman named Jessica Cacciatore was forced to sleep in her office overnight because a storm meant that she couldn’t use the elevator and local emergency responders didn’t feel confident that they could move both her and her power wheelchair safely. So, what should disabled people do to prepare for emergency situations like these?
An article published by the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation journal cites the suggestion of two bags to support you in an emergency, a directive from The National Organization on Disability: a “go bag” and a “ready bag.” A go-bag sets you up for success if you need to grab it and leave quickly, while the ready kit is meant for a three-day stay. This isn’t a scene out of a reality television show, both checklists provided feature the regular items you’d expect – a first aid kit, three-day supply of food and water, essential documents, etc. – but the article also suggests listing any supplies you might need for your service animal, any medical alert bracelets, and a seven-day supply for any medications you need while hunkering down or evacuating.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also have a list of resources for those with disabilities and their support systems in case of an emergency. They offer state-specific information from Alaska, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, and Oregon. In terms of government resources, Ready.Gov also has an extensive list of suggestions for those with disabilities. They have videos with open captions and ASL that specifically support wheelchair users, the Deaf/hard of hearing, and those who are blind.
Persons with disabilities should engage their local leaders to participate in emergency management programs, develop an emergency management plan, and identify backup transportation, food, shelter, have at least 30 days of medical supplies, and enough backup power to ensure life-supporting technology can continue to function properly.
As we have seen in the last several years, climate-related disasters show no signs of abating at any point in the near future, which unfortunately means persons with disabilities who live in areas with frequent natural disasters will need to adapt to a new normal of contingency planning.