Disaster Preparedness for Providers-Module 4: Disabilities and Disasters

Video Transcription

Welcome back to Module 4, Disabilities and Disasters, where we will shortly discuss some  statistics surrounding individuals with disabilities in the state of Texas and in the disaster space.  Before we get started, it is important to note that finding numbers and statistics on individuals with disabilities is extremely difficult.  This issue only increases when we talk about individuals with disabilities within the disaster  space, as not a lot of data collection or research focuses solely on the subpopulation. However, in recent years, disability and disaster data and disability and disaster research  has increased, giving us a better insight to what individuals with disabilities experience every day. So what do we know?  Well, we know that 12.7% of the Texas population has a disability, meaning over 3.5 million Texas residents self-identify as being disabled.  We also know that 84% of individuals with a disability do not have a preparedness plan. While this statistic doesn't focus solely on Texas or even solely on the United States,  this shows that there is a general lack of engagement and communication with the disability community on preparedness plans.  This statistic alone shows that there needs to be increased engagement for individuals with disabilities to make sure they are as prepared, or if not more prepared, than the  general public for when a disaster strikes. We also know that once a disaster happens, most people with disabilities who evacuate  do not return home, especially when you compare them to the statistic of individuals without a disability in evacuations.  One example is 59% of deaf individuals who had to evacuate due to a disaster did not return back home.  This shows that there are significant gaps in our system and in our response that is leaving people with disabilities behind.  And we also know that once institutionalized, it is very difficult to track or get individuals out of those settings.  For example, in some disasters, if an individual with significant disabilities is evacuated  out and is away from their typical supports or family, they are often put into institutions to get better support and better medical care.  However, once this is done, families can lose track or are unable to get information on  their family members, which can lead to lifelong institutionalization when it was previously not needed.  In our next module, we will discuss disability and disaster law and what law requires from  emergency managers and from public health professionals on what has to be done for disabilities.

Video Summary

Module 4 of the "Disabilities and Disasters" course highlights the challenges in collecting statistics on people with disabilities, particularly in disaster contexts. In Texas, 12.7% of the population, over 3.5 million individuals, identify as disabled. Alarmingly, 84% lack a preparedness plan. This underscores the need for better engagement with the disability community. In disasters, many individuals with disabilities who evacuate do not return home, revealing significant systemic gaps. Once institutionalized, tracking becomes difficult, often leading to unintended long-term institutionalization. The next module will explore legal requirements for emergency management concerning disabilities.

Asset Subtitle

In this module, you will review statistics surrounding individuals with disabilities in the state of Texas and in the disaster space.

Keywords

disabilities

disasters

preparedness

institutionalization

emergency management