Emergency Preparedness By People With Disabilities
How well you prepare and how much you practice before a disaster occurs will determine how successfully you deal with and recover from disasters. Your personal disaster preparation is a continuing process. It helps you and your network identify, get, develop, manage, and maintain the information and resources you will need to deal with a disaster when it happens.
Prepare yourself based on the capabilities and limitations you believe you will have after the disaster. Also keep in mind that your usual ways of support and assistance may not be available to you for some time during an evacuation and after the disaster has occurred.
Make a personal disaster plan. This will help you organize information you will need and activities you will do during and after a disaster. Key items in a personal disaster plan are described below. Keep copies of your disaster plan in your disaster supplies kit, car, wallet (behind driver's license or primary identification card), wheelchair pack or at work, etc. Also, share your disaster plan with your network.
For more information download the complete Emergency Preparedness guide.
Emergency Checklists
Go through these checklists to make sure you are ready in case of an emergency.
Personal Emergency Checklist
- Daily prescription medications
- Infant formula or diapers
- Important family documents
- Pre-charged batteries
- Important documents, including birth and marriage certificates
- Whatever is important for you to have
Personal Emergency Information
Keep a personal emergency information card with you at all times containing your name, the nature of your disability, and what actions you need taken because of your disability.
Emergency Supplies Checklist
- Water
- Food
- Battery-powered radio and/or a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert, and extra batteries
- Flashlight and extra batteries
- First Aid kit
- Whistle
- Dust mask
- Moist towelettes
- Wrench or pliers
- Can opener
- Toilet paper
- Tissues or paper towels
- Plastic sheeting and duct tape
- Garbage bags and plastic ties
First Aid Kit Checklist
- Sterile gloves/Sterile dressings
- Cleansing agent/soap
- Antibiotic wipes and ointment
- Burn ointment
- Adhesive bandages
- Thermometer
- Prescription medications
- Cell Phone and extra Batteries
- Scissors/Tweezers
- Tube of petroleum jelly
- Aspirin or nonaspirin pain reliever
- Anti-diarrhea medication
- Antacid
- Laxative
