FEMA is working to make sure the elderly and those with disabilities are prepared during a disaster.
The United States began observing National Preparedness Month in 2004. This year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is focusing on outreach to senior citizens and those living with disabilities.
Olanda Bryant is a disability integration advisor with FEMA. She says that means engaging with local communities to figure out what their specific needs are - both at the agency, and at the individual level.
“With the emergency management team, it’s doing those exercises and working with those individuals with those particular disabilities or considerations within your community, because they can tell you better than I can exactly what their needs are,” Bryant said.
Preparing for disaster means figuring out individual needs and making a plan for possible situations.
“You may want to consider what medications you need to have,” Bryant said. “If you wear contacts, what contacts do you need to have? What medical devices do you need to have? What level of transportation do you need to have if someone is coming in to rescue survivors?”
FEMA closed its first sale of a disability-accessible manufactured housing unit to victims of last year’s eastern Kentucky flooding Monday. It’s the first unit they expect to sell this season.
More information about emergency preparedness is available at ready.gov.
