Disasters andPeople withDisabilities

David AlexanderUniversity College London

In emergencies peoplewith disabilities mayencounter physicalbarriers, obstacles tocommunication andother barriers thatstop them fromreacting efficientlyand using the variousservices offeredin the recovery period.

Disability means not only reduced mobility,but also: paraplegia, quadriplegia,

deafness, blindness, mental retardation, brain damage, stroke, age-related

infirmity, senility, Alzheimer's disease, dependence on life-support machines,

etc...

A classification of theforms of disability:

• Mobility problems• Blind or partially sighted (use of guide dogs)• Deafness and hearing impairment• Difficulties of cognition,communication and expression

• Medical problems• Users of support systems for vital functions• Intolerance of environmentaland chemical substances

• Psychiatric disturbances and panic attacks• Infirmity associated with old age.

Disability can bepermanent or temporary

In earthquakes people in wheelchairscannot crawl under desks and tables.

People with sight or hearing problemsmay be unable to recognise the signs

of danger or orders to evacuate.

Evacuation problems:

• difficulties of movement

• orientation difficulties

• perception of hazardsand warnings

• emergency response

co-ordination.

• distance to be travelled

• passageways not wide enough

• presence of steps or other obstacles

• doors not wide enough.

Difficulties of movement:

• unsuitable lifts or ramps

People with disabilities who depend onelectrically-powered life-support equipment

may find themselves in difficulty ifthere is no current during the emergency.

Moreover, emergency equipment mustbe accessible to the disabled.

About 54 million Americans and90 million Indians have disabilities.

When Hurricane Katrina struck, 155,000residents of Biloxi (MS), Mobile (AL) e

New Orleans (LA) were registered disabled.

The problem of caring for theneeds of people with disabilitiesin disaster is not insignificant:

According to recent studies in the USA:

• 19.3% of the U.S. populationsuffers from some form of disability

• 80% of emergency managers have noprocedures for people with disabilities

• 57% of emergency managers donot know how many people withdisabilities live in their areas

• only 27% of emergency managershave taken a FEMA course on helpingpeople with disabilities in disasters.

In the World TradeCenter attacks, agroup of people withdisabilities waited ina room on the 80thfloor for firemento evacuate them,but the buildingcollapsed beforethey could be saved.

Disasters and their aftermaths can putpeople with disabilities more at risk than the general populationand may create new barriers.

In emergencies it is easy not to recognisethe type of disability of a person and

thus offer the wrong kind of assistance.

People with disabilities need, notonly particular procedures, but

also special preparations and plansto help them face disasters.

However: "in some ways, disabled peoplewho manage to live with a certain degreeof independence are more able to face

disaster than people who are not disabled.They have a 'psychological advantage'..."

Douglas Lathrop 1994.Mainstream Magazine, California.

Organisations that respond to disasterare used to thinking in terms of

providing assistance to large groupsof people, and less about the specialneeds of single individuals such as

people with disabilities. But they are,in the fullest sense, part of society...

In emergency planning andmanagement the problem of the needs of people with disabilities has not been sufficiently taken into consideration, and their opinions have not been listened to.

Typically, civil protection systems aredesigned for people who are not disabled:

usually, evacuation plans require,in some measure, the ability to

walk, drive, see and hear.

And so we findthat the evacuation centreis not accessible...

These are some of the needs of peoplewith disabilities in major emergencies:

• personal care materials and equipment• high dependence on essential services(water, electricity, etc.)

• how to manage when thereis chaos or debris at home?

• transport and mobility• evacuation and assistance with mobility• resupply with essential goods• how to ask for assistance• the needs of guide dogs.

"In practice, empirical data on theefficient and secure evacuation of people

with disabilities during emergenciesand crises do not exist."

Report: "Nobody Left Behind:Investigating Disaster Preparednessand Response for People with Disabilities"

There is a lack of integration and co-operationamong organisations that represent

people with disabilities and those thatprovide civil protection services.

In emergency planningno single strategy is validfor all types of disability.

In disasters assistance to people withdisabilities tends to merge with assistance to other groups: ethnic minorities, single

mothers, people with special dietaryor medical needs, etc.

Some basic principles:

• preparation, training, exercising

• associations for people withdisabilities involved in civil protection and emergency planning

• emergency communicationsto be accessible and reliable

• procedures and services accessiblein normal times and emergencies

• involve the mass media in thetransmission of warnings topeople with disabilities.

FEMA suggest that wherever possiblepeople with disabilities should:

• gain understanding of hazardspresent at work and at home

• create a personal supportnetwork consisting of atleast 3 people for each site

• estimate their own capacityto respond to an emergency

• wear a label or bracelet to identifythe form of their disability.

Conclusions

Disabilitiesvolunteer

organisations

Civil protectionvolunteer

organisations

Social servicesof local

authorities

Social servicesof local

health districts

Emergency

Planning

"Disabled people have been made morevulnerable to natural hazards through historical

processes of exclusion and impoverishment.As a consequence, their experience of disaster

may be more acute and long-standing thannon-disabled populations. These effects areaccentuated in poor communities throughout

the world where disabled people remain amongstthe poorest of the poor. Moreover, whendisaster strikes, disabled people encounterinequities in access to shelter or relief andare often excluded from full participation

in response and recovery."Hemingway and Priestley 2006,

Review of Disability Studies (3), p. 64.

Providing safeconditions forpeople with

disabilities duringand after disasteris not a problem:it is a challenge

at which to excel.

David.Alexander@ucl.ac.ukwww.slideshare.net/dealexander