People with Disabilities are Not Innately Vulnerable (Part 10)

But when they are left out of the adaptation planning process — the consequences can be disastrous

“The issues facing people with disability in disasters are not just (their) issues, they’re everybody’s issues. There are many opportunities to benefit the whole community

when you take some basic steps to make sure plans and facilities meet the needs of people with disabilities, older folks and other people with some mobility needs,” she

said during an interview as Dorian formed into a killer Category 4 hurricane.

Roth said shelters must be retrofitted to be entirely inclusive for people who need acute care.

Otherwise, families can be separated between those needing such care and

those that do not. She said people living alone who cannot make it to a special needs shelter “end up in an emergency room — the last place you want to be during a disaster.”