Report: Emergency Plans Leave the Disabled Vulnerable During Natural Disasters

A new report finds little progress has been made since Hurricane Katrina in improving the capacity of governments to evacuate and care for the disabled during a natural disaster, the Washington Times reported Wednesday.

The National Council on Disability released a report Wednesday that found America's most vulnerable citizens are barely considered in most emergency plans despite an executive order issued by President Bush in 2004 urging federal and local governments, as well as private organizations, to regard the unique needs of the disabled when planning rescues and preparing to provide emergency shelter.

Government disaster planners failed to seek input about the needs of the disabled from the community and its advocacy groups, the 500-page report found, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Times. Other problems the report cited included issues involving service dogs, relocation in trailers and mobile homes, the effectiveness of various warning systems and different transportation needs.

The report said the exclusion of issues affecting the disabled from disaster planning is a longstanding problem and that the details "have typically been limited to a few lines in an emergency plan, if they are mentioned at all."

"Although some improvement in this area is evident, catastrophic events such as Hurricane Katrina and the California wildfires exposed the gaps that still exist in many emergency plans and preparedness efforts," the report stated. "These events reinforce the need for additional action to protect the lives of people with disabilities against the destructive nature of disasters."

A separate report from the Special Needs Assessment for Katrina Evacuees (SNAKE) project found that many emergency shelter planners had little interaction with the disabled community before Hurricane Katrina.

"Many of the problems incurred by emergency personnel during the response phase of a disaster could be addressed if planning included people with disabilities," the National Council on Disability's report said. "It is imperative that people with disabilities have a voice and be at the table for all stages of disaster planning."

Click here to read The Washington Times article.