Disaster Information for People with Disabilities

A new resource is available to help you, your family, and your business develop a disaster plan. This excellent planning tool is available at http://www.floridadisaster.org. APD suggests developing an evacuation plan, a communication plan, and obtaining general disaster supplies. However, a person with a disability may have additional planning to do. Planning before a hurricane or other disaster is critical!

• If you must evacuate, do you have transportation? Where will you go? How will you get there? While you may not normally need the services of the local transportation provider, will you need their services during an emergency? Are you registered to receive their services? Flood zones and mobile homes are the primary areas from which you should evacuate, but you need to decide whether you will stay or go, even if evacuation is not mandated. If you are going to leave the area, make sure that you leave the area early.
• If electricity goes out for three or more days, can you stay in your home? Do you use any durable medical equipment that needs electricity to function? If your equipment is battery operated, how can you get the battery recharged?
• If you are deaf or hard of hearing, since most of the media coverage is by radio or television, do you have a support system to let you know what is going on?
• If you have a personal care attendant that comes to your home or place of work, what will happen if they cannot get to you?
• Will you have enough medications or medical supplies to last at least two weeks? Do you have medications that need to be refrigerated?
• Do you have plans for your service animal? Your pet?
• Do you have food and water to last at least 72 hours?

It is essential to pay attention to local emergency managers and if directed to, be prepared to evacuate. If required to evacuate, a shelter may or may not be the best place for you. Don't assume that all people with disabilities should go to a special needs shelter. Do you have friends or family who can provide you a safe structure in which to stay? If you are dependent on electricity, need transportation to evacuate, or need assistance because of age or disability, it is important that you are on your county's Office of Emergency Management registry. Each county handles the registry of persons with special needs and the provision of services for persons with special needs a little differently.

Call your local Office of Emergency Management and register in advance, so your county will be able to prepare for your needs and let you know their procedures. By completing the plan on http://www.floridadisaster.org, the information about your local Office of Emergency Management will be provided to you.

Disability-Related Supplies and Special Equipment

Additional Information on Equipment and Supplies

If you use a wheelchair or scooter
Keep a patch kit and can of seal-in-air product in your portable disaster supplies kit to repair flat tires, unless these are puncture-proof. Also, keep an extra supply of inner tubes. Keep a pair of heavy gloves in your portable disaster supplies kit to use while wheeling or making your way over glass and debris. In areas prone to earthquakes, keep the wheelchair wheels locked and the wheelchair close to your bed at night to be sure it does not move or fall over.

If you use a motorized wheelchair or scooter
Have an extra battery. A car battery also can be used with a wheelchair but will not last as long as a wheelchair's deep-cycle battery. Check with your vendor to know if you can charge your battery by either connecting jumper cables to a vehicle battery or connecting batteries to a converter that plugs into a vehicle's cigarette lighter. Caution: Charge only one battery at a time. If available, store a lightweight manual wheelchair for backup.

If you are Blind or have a visual disability
Store a talking or braille clock or large-print timepiece with extra batteries. Have at least one extra white cane. Mark your disaster supplies items with fluorescent tape, large print, or braille.

• Mark your gas, water, and electric shutoff valves with fluorescent tape, large print, or braille.
• Store extra magnifiers.
• Have an extra pair of glasses if you wear them.
• Make photocopies of your information lists from this booklet.

If you are Deaf or have a hearing lo

• Consider getting a small portable battery-operated television set. Emergency broadcasts may give information in American Sign Language (ASL) or open captioning.
• Keep pads and pencils in your home disaster supplies kit and with your car disaster supplies. Keep them with you at all times for communication.
• Keep a flashlight, whistle or other noisemaker, and pad and pencil by your bed.
• Keep a card in the disaster supplies kits (in your home and car), and with you at all times that indicates that you are Deaf. Include any other appropriate communication information such as, I do (or do not) know American Sign Language (ASL), or, My service animal may legally remain with me.

If you have a speech-related or communication disability

• Consider buying a power converter if you use a laptop computer to communicate. A power converter allows most laptops (12 volts or less) to be operated from the cigarette lighter on the dashboard of a vehicle.
• Be sure to have pencil and paper with you as a backup communication resource.
• If you use an augmentative communication device (such as an electronic communicator or artificial larynx) that allows you to communicate by voice, be sure to keep it close to you at night in a safe place.
• Store copies of a word or letter board and preprinted key phrases you would use in case of an emergency in all of your disaster supplies kits, your wallet, purse, etc.

If you use self-administered medical treatments
Keep in mind that traffic delays and/or severe weather hazards can happen when you do not expect them. Be sure to carry the equipment and fluids (temperature controlled) you will need when traveling.

If you have a cognitive disability

• Keep a copy of any instructions or information you think you will need. Also, keep a copy of this information in the disaster supplies kits you keep both at home and in your car. Prepare this information in a way that is easy for you to understand. You may want to break down the information into a step-by-step outline. This format will help you remember what to do during the confusion of a disaster.
• Have a pencil and paper ready to keep track of any new instructions or information you may receive.

Note: Florida law requires that all utility companies offer a priority reconnection service for people with disabilities who use power-dependent equipment. Contact your utility company for more information and to get placed on their priority reconnection list.

Pet and Service Animal Information
Plan for the care of your pets if you have to evacuate your home. Pets, unlike service animals, will only be allowed in designated pet-friendly shelters. Check with your local Emergency Management Office to see if there is one in your area. So, it is best to decide now where you will take your pet if you must leave. Remember to take a leash, muzzle, food, water, immunization records, any medications, and a carrier or cage. Service animals are allowed in hotels or motels and Red Cross shelters. However, these places cannot care for your animal. When you leave your home, remember to take a collar, harness, identification tags, records of vaccinations, medications, veterinarian contact, and food for your service animal with you.
Items for Service Animals

• Food
• Vaccination Records
• Vet Contact
• Additional water
• Leash/harness
• Identification tags
• Medications and medical records
• Litter/pan
• Carrier or cage

Additional Tips for People With Disabilities

• If you or someone in your household uses a wheelchair, make more than one exit from your home wheelchair accessible in case the primary exit is blocked. Plan and practice how to escape from your home.
• For individuals who use telecommunications relay services, look into different options to use as back-up including: dialing 711 (nationwide), Cap Tel (captioned telephone), Internet-based relay (through computer, text pager, PDA, etc.), and /or video relay services (through broadband).
• Ask yourself what resources you rely on regularly and determine how a disaster might affect your use of them.
• Identify your disability-related or health condition need by writing it down or wearing medical alert tags or bracelets.
• If you use medical equipment in your home that requires electricity to operate, talk to your health care provider about what you can do to prepare for its use during a power outage.
• If you have a communication disability, make sure your emergency information list notes the best way to communicate with you. Also be sure you have cash or travelers checks in your kits in case you need to purchase supplies. - Advocate for yourself. Practice how to quickly explain to people the best way to guide or move you and your adaptive equipment, safely and rapidly.
• Be ready to give brief, clear, and specific instructions and directions to rescue personnel, either orally or in writing. For example, say or write these instructions:
  • "Please take my:
    Oxygen tank.
    Wheelchair.
    Gamma globulin from the freezer.
    Insulin from the refrigerator.
    Communication device from under the bed."
  • Please do not straighten my knees. They are fused in a bent position.
  • I have had a brain injury. Please write down all important instructions and information.
  • I am blind/visually impaired. Please let me grasp your arm firmly.
  • I am deaf. Please write things down for me.
• When needed, ask for an accommodation from disaster response personnel. For example, let a responder or relief worker know if you cannot wait in lines for long periods for items like water, food, and disaster relief assistance. Practice how to explain clearly and briefly why you need this assistance. You may also want to write the explanation down ahead of time.

Source: American Red Cross, National Organization on Disability

Resources

There are many on-line resources for you to get more information on disaster preparedness. If you do not have computer access at home, you may visit your local public library to do more research. The following are some good on-line resources to review:

• Florida Emergency Management Community
  www.floridadisaster.org
• Federal Emergency Management Agency
  www.fema.gov
• Red Cross
  www.redcross.org and www.prepare.org
• National Organization on Disability
  www.nod.org/emergency
• The National Center on Emergency Planning for People with Disabilities
  www.disabilitypreparedness.org

Disaster Preparedness for People with Disabilities

One of the best guides to how people with disabilities should prepare for disasters was developed by the American Red Cross and is available for free at the following website: http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/beprepared/disability.pdf

The Governor's Commission on Disabilities Clearinghouse on Disability Information is another resource to call to answer disaster preparedness questions. Its phone number is 1-877-ADA-4YOU or 1-877-232-4968. Also, the Florida Centers for Independent Living (CIL) are committed to assisting those with disabilities with planning for emergencies. If you need assistance with preparing, call 1-866-575-6004 or 1-877-822-1993 to connect to your local CIL.

Special Needs Registries
To learn about services provided by your county for those with special needs or to sign up for the Special Needs Registry, call your county.

• Alachua (352) 264-6500
• Baker (904) 259-6111
• Bay (850) 784-4000
• Bradford (904) 966-6336
• Brevard (321) 637-6670
• Broward (954) 537-2888 or TDD line- (954) 537-2882
• Calhoun (850) 674-8075
• Charlotte (941) 505-4620
• Citrus (352) 746-6555
• Clay (904) 284-7703
• Collier (239) 774-8444
• Columbia (386) 758-1125
• Dade (See Miami-Dade)
• DeSoto (863) 993-4831
• Dixie (352) 498-1240
• Duval (904) 630-2472
• Escambia (850) 595-3311 or (850) 471-6400
• Flagler (386) 437-7381 or (386) 437-7382
• Franklin (850) 653-8977
• Gadsden (850) 875-8642
• Gilchrist (352) 463-3134
• Glades (863) 946-6020
• Gulf (850) 229-9111
• Hamilton (386) 792-6647
• Hardee (863) 773-6373
• Hendry (863) 612-4700
• Hernando (352) 754-4083
• Highlands (863) 385-1112
• Hillsborough (813) 307-8015 ext. 6006
• Holmes (850) 547-1112
• Indian River (772) 567-2154
• Jackson (850) 482-5028
• Jefferson (850) 342-0211
• Lafayette (386) 294-1950
• Lake (352) 343-9420
• Lee (239) 477-3600
• Leon (850) 488-5921
• Levy (352) 486-5213
• Liberty (850) 643-2339
• Madison (850) 973-3698
• Manatee (941) 749-3022
• Marion (352) 622-3205
• Martin (772) 287-1652
• Miami-Dade (305) 513-7700 or 311
• Monroe (305) 292-4591
• Nassau (904) 548-4980
• Okaloosa (850) 651-7560
• Okeechobee (863) 462-5776
• Orange (407) 650-4047 or (407) 836-3111
• Osceola (407) 343-7000
• Palm Beach (561) 712-6400
• Pasco (727) 847-8959 or (TDD) (352) 521-5137
• Pinellas (727) 464-3800
• Polk (863) 534-5600
• Putnam (386) 329-0379
• Santa Rosa (850) 983-5360
• Sarasota (941) 951-5283 or (941) 861-5000
• Seminole (407) 665-5102
• St. Johns (904) 824-5550
• St. Lucie (772) 461-5201 or (772) 462-1770
• Sumter (352) 569-6000
• Suwannee (386) 364-3405
• Taylor (850) 838-3575
• Union (386) 496-4300
• Volusia
  Daytona Beach area (386) 258-4088
  West Volusia area (386) 736-5980
  Southeast Volusia area (386) 423-3395
• Wakulla (850) 926-0861
• Walton (850) 892-8066
• Washington (850) 638-6203