What can NZ learn from Hurricane Katrina ?
There are now shocking reports coming out of the US about the inadequate planning and response for people with disabilites during and after Hurricane Katrina. It is difficult to determine precisely what percentage of hurricane-related deaths were people with disabilities. However, it is clear that a disproportionate number of the fatalities were people with disabilities
Almost immediately after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, the National Council on Disability (NCD) estimated that there were roughly 155,000 people with disabilities over the age of 5 - or about 25 percent of the cities' populations - living in the three cities hardest hit by the hurricane: Biloxi, Mississippi; Mobile, Alabama; and New Orleans, Louisiana. NCD urged emergency managers and government officials to recognize that for hurricane survivors with disabilities, their needs for basic necessities were "compounded by chronic health conditions and functional impairments... [which includes] people who are blind, people who are deaf, people who use wheelchairs, canes, walkers, crutches, people with service animals, and people with mental health needs."
From National Council of Disabilites website
In June 2006 The National Council on Disability produced a report THE NEEDS OF PEOPLE WITH PSYCHIATRIC DISABILITIES DURING AND AFTER HURRICANES KATRINA AND RITA: POSITION PAPER AND RECOMMENDATIONS.
This report should be complulsory reading for anyone with responsiblity for disaster planning. ... for hurricane survivors with psychiatric disabilities, the hurricanes' destruction resulted in "trauma that didn't last 24 hours, then go away. ... It goes on and on." Some of these challenges were unavoidable. As one government official said, "No one ever planned for ‘what happens when your social service infrastructure is completely wiped out.'" Nonetheless, many of the problems could have been avoided with proper planning."[i]f planning does not embrace the value that everyone should survive, they will not." As a result of its research, NCD found that much pre-Katrina disaster planning did not contemplate the needs of people with psychiatric disabilities, and as a result, many people died or unnecessarily suffered severely traumatic experiences.
Major Findings:
- In Violation of Federal Policy and Law, People with Psychiatric Disabilities were Discriminated Against During Evacuation, Rescue, and Relief Phases
First responders and emergency managers such as shelter operators often violated the civil rights requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. As a result, people with disabilities did not have access to critical services and relief. Some of the most common forms of discrimination included: People with disabilities were segregated from the general population in some shelters while other shelter simply refused to let them enter. People with psychiatric disabilities were denied access to housing and other services because of erroneous fears and stereotypes of people with psychiatric disabilities.
- Mismanaged Evacuations Resulted in the Loss, Mistreatment, and Inappropriate Institutionalization of People with Psychiatric Disabilities
Disaster response plans often did not include protocols to evacuate people with psychiatric disabilities. During evacuations, emergency officials physically lost residents of group homes and psychiatric facilities many of who are still missing. Others have not or cannot return home because essential supports have not been restored or because the cost of living has increased too much. When people with psychiatric disabilities arrived at evacuation locations - ranging from state parks to churches - those locations often were not prepared to meet the medical and mental health needs of the evacuees with psychiatric disabilities. Many people with psychiatric disabilities never made it to evacuation shelters because they were inappropriately and involuntarily institutionalized. Some of these people still have not been discharged, despite evaluations that indicate they should be.
- People with Psychiatric Disabilities Were Not Included in Disaster Planning or Relief and Recovery Efforts
Most emergency plans were not developed with the inclusion of people with disabilities, psychiatric or otherwise. As a result, emergency planners could not anticipate the many special needs required by evacuees with disabilities. Houston was an exception to that general rule, where people with disabilities were significantly involved with a local emergency response coalition.
People with psychiatric disabilities were not included in relief and recovery efforts. For example, there have been many calls for greater screening, diagnostic and professional treatment capacity after natural disasters. However, professional treatment after a disaster should be augmented by peer support from clients of the mental health system. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) provided some funding for peer support training.
People with psychiatric disabilities were not included in the development of plans to evacuate citizens using police assistance. Uniformed police officers often were not trained to work with people with psychiatric disabilities, and as a result, many evacuees with psychiatric disabilities had negative evacuation experiences with the police.
- Disaster Management Efforts Often Failed Because No Individual or Office Had Responsibility, Accountability, and Authority for Disability Related Issues
As in previous disasters, there was a lack of coordination and communication, not only between levels of government, or between different agencies at the same level of government, but between people at different levels in the same agency. One disability advocate recalled, "When I asked [who had ownership of disability issues] in the state I was assessing, no one raised their hand. I asked five different logistical places, and no one claimed ownership of disability-related issues for the state... anything coordinated out to the state levels was fragmented, not standardized, not coordinated across the board."
- Disaster Plans Were Shortsighted and Relief Services Were Terminated Prematurely
Accumulated experience from other highly traumatic events - such as September 11th and the Oklahoma City bombing - indicates that suffering and symptoms related to traumatic events often emerge years later. Just as policymakers should make long-term plans for disaster survivors' physical needs, such as housing and employment, policymakers also should plan for long-term psychiatric needs. However, many relief services have been prematurely terminated. For example, the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) "long-term" crisis counseling programs expire after nine months; however, mental health experts predict major eruptions of post-traumatic stress disorder on the one-year anniversary of the disaster.
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