Two leading U.S. civil rights groups – Disability Rights Advocates and the Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled – recently filed a suit claiming that the city of New York and Mayor Michael Bloomberg placed people with disabilities in life-threatening situations by failing to take their “unique needs” into consideration when planning for emergencies and disasters. The organizations taking the action claim that major disasters in New York City, including the terrorist attacks on September 11th and the destruction of the recent hurricane have highlighted the lack of resources the city has in place to meet the needs of its 900,000 citizens with disabilities during emergency situations.

During the response to Hurricane Irene reports indicate that 75 percent of the designated emergency shelters in New York were not fully accessible to wheelchair users,  the televised emergency announcements did not include American Sign Language for individuals with low hearing or deafness, and the evacuation maps from the city were not useable by persons with low vision or blindness. In addition, the modes of transport allowed for evacuation of some areas relied heavily on school busses, which lacked lifts for wheelchair users. At the heart of the suit is the claim that the city is violating federal and state anti-discrimination laws by failing to make emergency plans, shelters, announcements, and transportation fully accessible to individuals with physical disabilities. Both Disability Rights Advocates and the Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled are seeking a court order to force the city to revamp its emergency preparation plan to account for the needs of persons with disabilities, including ensuring accessible transportation, shelter, communication, notification, and assistance during disaster recovery.

This is not the first case focused on inadequate emergency preparedness for persons with disabilities to be taken in the U.S. In the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita civil rights groups made claims focusing on the inadequacy of the emergency responses which led to loss of life, and resulted in persons with disabilities being displaced from their homes and placed in inappropriate and inaccessible shelters. The loss of life and danger faced by persons with disabilities during and following Hurricane Katrina was highlighted by Marcie Roth, Director of the Office of Disability Integration and Coordination (FEMA) in a written statement to the House Committee on Homeland Security, Subcommittee on Emergency Communications, Preparedness, and Response. Director Roth recounted her attempts to assist individuals with disabilities who contacted her office, and the difficulties these individuals faced.

To date the majority of inclusive emergency preparedness planning has taken place at the international level in rural areas. Despite the lessons learned regarding the need for inclusive emergency responses following Hurricane Katrina, many of the same issues were seen following Hurricane Irene. Nations which have ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities are now required to ensure that individuals with disabilities are protected in situations of risk. In addition in some nations, including the United States,  the inclusion of individuals with disabilities in emergency response planning is required by federal agencies.

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