Preparing for the Next Emergency - Part 2

Here's Part One

Developing Plans

- Four areas of planning need to be looked at to cover where you might be located in a disaster: what would you do at home, what would you do at work or school, what would you do in a vehicle, and what would you do if you were in a high rise building. For work and school planning some schools and companies are doing real state-of-the work. High-rise buildings got a lot of attention since September 11, but few people actually work in them.

- Public transportation is still a problem for people with disabilities because so little is accessible.

- A videotape "We Watch the City: Stories in the Shadow of 9/11" is available at www.disabilitypreparedness.org. Produced by the University of Minnesota, it has stories that offer insight on what people experienced. When the bridges were closed after 9/11, nobody could get in or out and all special transportation for people with disabilities was gone. Some people with disabilities were lost for days because no one knew where they went.

Disaster Phases

- When you talk about disasters, 99% of people think about evacuation plans, but what we need to look at is how people will receive information about threats and warnings. If it goes beyond this phase, you must prepare for impact, then the aftermath of the disaster and recovery.

- One of the things that is most unpredictable about disaster preparedness is what people will actually do in a real emergency. We don't know the conditions we'll be under or where we will be when it happens. The buddy system is one of the things that people can include in their plans. But it was found that in a real emergency, many people forgot that they were the buddy. Emergencies can also cause people who tend to be very organized to panic. Hidden disabilities are another issue because many people will seem to be coping fine until an emergency happens.

- Australia put together a great guide on how to deal with mental health issues in terms of an emergency and to deal with people who mental health issues. They break it down to show that we need to plan for and anticipate events. A lot of people aren't willing to address that an emergency could happen and they brush it off. Disaster simulations are important because practice makes a difference in how you'll execute when faced with a real disaster.

Getting the Word Out

- For a lot of people, the message needed is a simple 'do I stay or do I go?' Any more information can be too much to process if you're trying to get out. You have too many other things to think about. Many times the best thing is to stay put and figure out how to protect yourself.

- When you provide more detailed information, be sure people have the vehicles to get it. If it's on your website, the website needs to be accessible.

- Some communities develop a confidential list of residences where there are people with disabilities. But just because you know where they live doesn't mean they'll be there or that you can get to them. It's hard to keep that kind of list updated, and it also doesn't take into consideration that a first responder's first charge is to save people in the area where an event is happening, then to save property.

Protect in Place

Sheltering in place was somewhat controversial after September 11, but it didn't really matter if you were a person with a disability or not because many people simply could not get out.

- Some buildings have fire safe areas that are easy to find and some do not. It's best to communicate with people about what they want and will accept in an emergency. A lot of equipment isn't specialized: pagers, cell phones, GP locators.

- Emergency preparedness must involve developing plans in which people with disabilities participate. When talking with clients, one of the first questions Dr. Cameron is asked is "What do we need to communicate appropriately?" He says to ask people with disabilities directly.

- Working with people in D.C., many of whom have large public spaces, he has found they have some basic evacuation equipment but no idea on a given day who will be in the building and their exact whereabouts.

Evacuations

- The buddy system may work if 3-4 people share the responsibility. But you have to take into account with the buddy system that there is a 50% chance you will be in your office and a 50% chance your buddy will be too.

- Elevators are shut down in a fire because of fire hazards, potential loss of power, potential for people to be trapped, and the need to free up their use for the fire department.

- There are now about 20-30 different styles of evacuation equipment. People with disabilities need to be involved up front in the planning process, developing evacuation philosophy, regulations, taking into account occupant needs and building characteristics. Many times Dr. Cameron goes to places where they say they have a plan that includes people with disabilities but it looks like any other plan.

- In working with an organization or community, Dr. Cameron uses a planning procedure that details the role and responsibilities of the staff and occupants and the sequence of actions to be taken. He looks at the clarity of instructions, ensuring accessible communication, public signs and individual notification. In Florida last week, he saw signs for "evacuation route" which he followed, and never found an end that says "you are here."

Resources

- The National Center on Emergency Preparedness for People with Disabilities has an Emergency Preparedness Planning Kit with a lot of materials and training options: www.disabilitypreparedness.org They provide workshops.
- The book has an Self-Assessment and communication materials that helps you think about what you will need and communicate the key issues to planners. There's a similar self-assessment for organizations.
- He will go to actual sites to tell people about simulations.
- Model plans are hard to come by. Generally the states that have seen the most natural disasters recently will have better plans. One example is the Bay Area of California.