By Rebekah Ninan, Summer Associate, Lieff Cabraser
This month is Disability Pride Month, marking the 34th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. However, even thirty-four years after the landmark legislation, planning for natural disasters is still not inclusive of those with disabilities.[1] Hurricane Beryl recently magnified this issue as Houston residents with disabilities noted the difficulty of planning evacuation routes and their concern of being left behind in the storm.[2] The impact of this exclusivity is significant: compared to the general population, people with disabilities are up to four times more likely to die in disasters.[3] There are three factors that put this community at greater risk.
First, individuals with disabilities are more exposed to environmental harms[4] and climate-related disasters.[5] For example, during Hurricane Harvey, neighborhoods that had a higher proportion of residents with disabilities experienced significantly greater flooding.[6] This intersects with the increased risks for historically marginalized communities, including Black, Latinx, and people or color and low-income communities, as these are also communities that are more likely to live in areas impacted by climate change.[7] Moreover, people of color are more likely to be exposed to environmental hazards, contamination, and pollutants, such as lead contamination of the public water supply, which can lead to mental and physical health issues and resulting disabilities.
Second, evacuation plans, shelters, and other disaster response measures are often inaccessible. This leaves many people with disabilities at risk of abandonment or even death during crises.[8] The exclusion can be multifaceted. Emergency announcements may not be in accessible formats for those who are blind or deaf.[9] People with disabilities may have to rely on friends or family to evacuate them due to a lack of accessible transportation.[10] Shelters routinely lack ramps or beds that can be used by those in wheelchairs.[11] There are also health maintenance needs for people with disabilities once they get to shelter, like refrigeration for medication or power for medical devices.[12] Local emergency response often fails to account for these needs.
Third, the health risks associated with natural disasters can be exacerbated for those with disabilities. For example, immobile and immunocompromised people are more vulnerable to water-borne infectious disease during a flood.[13] Or pre-existing conditions can lead to more severe outcomes from smoke inhalation during wildfires.[14] Individuals who struggle with body temperature regulation, like those with spinal cord injuries, are at risk as extreme heat events become more common-place.[15]
Recently, international organizations and domestic agencies have recognized the necessity of disability inclusion for emergency preparedness. A Biden administration executive order established a working group on climate change and disability.[16] The CDC launched an initiative earlier this year to catalogue successful practices in accessible emergency preparedness.[17] The United Nations climate change conference recognized climate activists who focus on disability rights as an official caucus.[18] These initiatives are important first steps in addressing this problem.
Despite the recent efforts to rectify the inequity, there is still more work to be done. Scientists should ensure climate policy research and recommendations include impacts on those with disabilities. In government planning, the voices of disability rights activists merit priority. Some scholars have suggested that governments and agencies consult Centers for Independent Living (CILs) in their emergency planning.[19] CILs are led by and serve people with disabilities by connecting them with resources such as state programming. Collaboration with CLIs during disasters could help save lives in two ways. First, CILs can bring a perspective on the disabled community’s needs in the emergency planning stage. This particularly important as government organizations have been found to not sufficiently audit their vulnerable populations’ needs for emergency preparedness.[20] Second, given that CILs are already widely-used resources, they can serve as conduit for providing emergency information and response to people with disabilities. This would build upon the role civil society organizations already play as “disabled people’s organizations are often critically important in the absence of economic or governmental support.”[21] Governments should also invest more in training for people involved in rescue and shelter efforts. This could include training Red Cross staffers on how to evacuate someone alongside their wheelchair or ventilator.[22] Another important training gap to fill is communication needs, like sign language or signs in braille.[23] Ultimately, not only do officials need to think about people with disabilities, but they also need to work with them within an intersectional and inclusive framework to create a safer, more accessible society.
[1] The Guardian, Disabled people being “systematically ignored” on climate crisis, says study, June 10, 2022. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jun/10/disabled-people-systematically-ignored-climate-crisis-study
[2] John Lomax, For residents with disabilities, hurricane prep comes down to community, The Houston Chronicle, July 8, 2024. Jhttps://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-weather/article/disabled-residents-prep-hurricane-beryl-19560326.php
[3] PBS News Hour, How climate change risks impact people with disabilities, Nov. 9, 2023. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-climate-change-risks-disproportionately-impact-people-with-disabilities
[4] Jayajit Chakraborty, Unequal Proximity to Environmental Pollution, Aug 5, 2020. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00330124.2020.1787181
[5] Human Rights Watch, UN Climate Resolution Emphasizes Protection of Disability Rights, July 15, 2019. https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/07/15/un-climate-resolution-emphasizes-protection-disability-rights
[6] Timothy W. Collins et. al, Hurricane Harvey and people with disabilities: Disproportionate exposure to flooding in Houston, Texas, Social Science & Medicine Vol. 226, April 2019. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277953619301121
[7] Christian Weller, Climate Change Worsens Natural Disasters Alongside Racial Inequality, Forbes, Aug. 17, 2023. https://www.forbes.com/sites/christianweller/2023/08/17/climate-change-worsens-natural-disasters-alongside-racial-inequality/
[8] Human Rights Watch, UN Climate Resolution Emphasizes Protection of Disability Rights, July 15, 2019. https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/07/15/un-climate-resolution-emphasizes-protection-disability-rights
[9] Disability Rights Advocates, Lawsuit Provides Blind Individuals With Access to New York State’s Emergency Mass Notification System, https://dralegal.org/press/ny-alert-settlement/; For an example during a health emergency, see https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/covid-vaccine-websites-violate-disability-laws-create-inequity-for-the-blind
[10] Drew Costley, People with disabilities left out of climate planning, AP News, Oct. 13, 2022. https://apnews.com/article/science-health-new-orleans-united-nations-climate-and-environment-d631f245d0a5a408a1ba1be7dd55b167
[11] Marianne Dhenin, How Disabled People Are Left Behind in Climate Disasters, The New Republic, Oct. 9, 2016. https://newrepublic.com/article/174497/disabled-people-left-behind-climate-disasters
[12] Harvard Law School Project on Disability, Advancing Disability Climate Justice in the Courts, Mar. 25, 2024. https://hpod.law.harvard.edu/events/event/disability-climate-courts
[13] United Nations Environment Programme, How climate change disproportionately impacts those with disabilities, Dec. 9, 2019. https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/how-climate-change-disproportionately-impacts-those-disabilities
[14] The Progressive Magazine, In Covering the West Coast Fires, We Can’t Ignore People with Chronic Illnesses, Sept. 23, 2020. https://progressive.org/latest/west-coast-fires-chronic-illness-prooker-200923/; See also Krystal Vasquez, A disability should not be a death sentence during a natural disaster, Environmental Health News, Apr. 28, 2021. https://www.ehn.org/natural-disasters-disabled-community-2652503611.html
[15] Atmos, Society Leaves Disabled Communities Sweltering, July 26, 2023. https://atmos.earth/society-leaves-disabled-people-sweltering/
[16] The White House, Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, Jan. 27, 2021. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/27/executive-order-on-tackling-the-climate-crisis-at-home-and-abroad/
[17] CDC, Stories from the Field: Building Capacity for Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Preparedness Planning and Response. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/humandevelopment/covid-19/stories-from-the-field.html
[18] Sharm El-Sheikh, People with disabilities gained a voice in global climate talks. Here’s what that means, PBS News, Nov. 10, 2022. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/people-with-disabilities-gained-a-voice-in-global-climate-talks-heres-what-that-means
[19]Julia Métraux, States Could Help Disabled People Survive Climate Change—By involving them, Mother Jones, July 3 2024. https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2024/07/states-could-help-disabled-people-survive-climate-change-by-involving-them/
[20] California State Auditor, Report 2019-103: California Is Not Adequately Prepared to Protect Its Most Vulnerable Residents From Natural Disasters, Dec. 5, 2019. https://information.auditor.ca.gov/reports/2019-103/index.html
[21] Alina Engelman et. al, Global Disability Justice In Climate Disasters: Mobilizing People With Disabilities As Change Agents, Health Affairs Vol.41, October 2022. https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2022.00474
[22] Julia Métraux, States Could Help Disabled People Survive Climate Change—By involving them, Mother Jones, July 3 2024. https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2024/07/states-could-help-disabled-people-survive-climate-change-by-involving-them/
[23]Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, Including people with disabilities in Maryland’s climate agenda, Maryland Matters, June 5, 2024. https://marylandmatters.org/2024/06/05/including-people-with-disabilities-in-marylands-climate-agenda/
Escrito por Rebekah Ninan, asociada de verano, Lieff Cabraser
Este es mes del orgullo de la discapacidad (Disability Pride Month) y marca el trigésimo cuarto aniversario de la Ley de Estadounidenses con Discapacidades de 1990. Sin embargo, a pesar de que han pasado treinta y cuatro años desde la aprobación de esta ley trascendental, la planificación para desastres naturales sigue sin ser inclusiva para aquellos con discapacidades.[1] Recientemente, el huracán Beryl resaltó esta problema cuando los residentes discapacitados de Houston se dieron cuenta de lo difícil que era planificar rutas de evacuación y expresaron sus inquietudes de ser dejados atrás en la tormenta.[2] El impacto de esta exclusión es significativa: en comparación con la población general, las personas con discapacidades tienen una probabilidad cuatro veces mayor de morir en los desastres.[3] Hay tres factores que aumentan los riesgos de esta comunidad.
En primer lugar, las personas con discapacidades se ven expuestas a mayores daños medioambientales[4] y desastres relacionados con el clima.[5] Por ejemplo, durante el huracán Harvey, los vecindarios que tenían una proporción más alta de residentes con discapacidades sufrieron inundaciones significativamente mayores.[6] Esto se combina con los riesgos mayores de las comunidades históricamente marginadas, tales como las de personas afroamericanas, latinas o personas de color y comunidades de ingresos bajos, ya que también son comunidades que más probablemente vivan en áreas afectadas por el cambio climático.[7] Adicionalmente, es más probable que las personas de color se vean expuestas a riesgos medioambientales, contaminación y contaminantes, tales como la contaminación por plomo del suministro de agua público, que puede causar problemas de salud mental y física que provocan discapacidades.
En segundo lugar, los planes de evacuación, refugios y otras medidas de respuesta a los desastres suelen ser inaccesibles. Esto deja a mucha gente con discapacidades en peligro de quedar abandonada o morir durante las crisis.[8] La exclusión puede ser multifacética. Es posible que los anuncios de emergencia no sean en formatos accesibles para los ciegos o sordos.[9] Además, las personas con discapacidades pueden verse obligadas a confiar en sus amigos o familiares para que los evacúen debido a una falta de transporte accesible.[10] Los refugios suelen no tener rampas ni camas para personas con sillas de ruedas.[11] También existen necesidades de mantenimiento de la salud para las personas con discapacidades una vez que llegan al refugio, como la necesidad de contar con refrigeradores para sus medicamentos o electricidad para sus dispositivos médicos.[12] Los equipos de respuesta a las emergencias locales suelen olvidar estas necesidades.
En tercer lugar, los riesgos de salud asociados con los desastres naturales pueden ser exacerbados para aquellos con discapacidades. Por ejemplo, las personas inmóviles e inmunocomprometidas son más vulnerables a las enfermedades transmitidas en el agua durante una inundación.[13] O los problemas de salud preexistentes pueden causar resultados más graves por la inhalación de humo durante los incendios forestales.[14] Las personas que tienen dificultades para regular la temperatura corporal, como aquellas con lesiones en la médula espinal, correrán peligro a medida que los eventos de calor extremo se vuelvan más comunes.[15]
Recientemente, las organizaciones internacionales y agencias domésticas han reconocido la necesidad de incluir a los discapacitados en los preparativos para emergencias. Una orden ejecutiva de Biden estableció un grupo de trabajo sobre cambio climático y discapacidad.[16] El CDC lanzó una iniciativa a principios de este año para catalogar métodos exitosos para la preparación de emergencias accesible a los discapacitados.[17] La conferencia sobre cambio climático de las Naciones Unidas reconoció a activistas climáticos que se concentran en los derechos de los discapacitados como candidatos oficiales.[18] Estas iniciativas son pasos iniciales importantes para abordar este problema.
A pesar de los esfuerzos recientes por rectificar la desigualdad, todavía hay trabajo que hacer. Los científicos deben asegurarse de que la investigación y las recomendaciones sobre políticas climáticas incluyan el impacto en las personas con discapacidades. En la planificación gubernamental, las voces de los activistas de derechos de los discapacitados merecen prioridad. Algunos académicos han sugerido que los gobiernos y organismos consulten con centros de vida independiente (CIL, por sus siglas en inglés) para planificar para emergencias.[19] Los CIL son dirigidos por personas con discapacidades y prestan servicios a esta población conectándolas con recursos tales como programas estatales. La colaboración con los CIL durante los desastres puede ayudar a salvar vidas de dos maneras. En primer lugar, los CIL pueden aportar un punto de vista sobre las necesidades de la comunidad de personas discapacitadas en la etapa de planificación para emergencias. Esto es especialmente importante ya que las organizaciones del gobierno no suelen estudiar suficientemente las necesidades de sus poblaciones vulnerables en su preparación para emergencias.[20] En segundo lugar, ya que los CIL ya son recursos ampliamente utilizados, pueden servir como conducto para proveer información y respuesta de emergencia a personas con discapacidades. Esto desarrollaría el papel que ya tienen las organizaciones de la sociedad civil, ya que “las organizaciones de personas discapacitadas suelen ser críticamente importantes en ausencia de apoyo económico o gubernamental”.[21] Los gobiernos también deben invertir más en entrenar personas involucradas en actividades de rescate y refugio. Esto podría incluir el entrenamiento del personal de la Cruz Roja para evacuar a una persona que tiene una silla de rueda o usa un respirador. Otra brecha de entrenamiento que es importante superar es la de las necesidades de comunicación, tales como el lenguaje de señas y los símbolos de braille.[22] En última instancia, los funcionarios no solo deben considerar a las personas con discapacidades sino que deben trabajar con ellas en un marco interseccional e inclusivo para crear una sociedad más segura y accesible.
[1] The Guardian, Disabled people being “systematically ignored” on climate crisis, says study (Estudio indica que los discapacitados son “sistemáticamente ignorados” en la crisis climática), 10 de junio de 2022. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jun/10/disabled-people-systematically-ignored-climate-crisis-study
[2] John Lomax, For residents with disabilities, hurricane prep comes down to community (Para los residentes con discapacidades, la preparación para huracanes depende de la comunidad), The Houston Chronicle, 8 de julio de 2024. Jhttps://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-weather/article/disabled-residents-prep-hurricane-beryl-19560326.php
[3] PBS News Hour, How climate change risks impact people with disabilities (La forma en la que el cambio climático afecta a las personas con discapacidades), 9 de noviembre de 2023. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-climate-change-risks-disproportionately-impact-people-with-disabilities
[4] Jayajit Chakraborty, Unequal Proximity to Environmental Pollution (La proximidad desigual a la contaminación medioambiental), 5 de agosto de 2020. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00330124.2020.1787181
[5] Human Rights Watch, UN Climate Resolution Emphasizes Protection of Disability Rights (La resolución climática de las Naciones Unidas enfatiza la protección de los derechos de los discapacitados), 15 de julio de 2019. https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/07/15/un-climate-resolution-emphasizes-protection-disability-rights
[6] Timothy W. Collins y otros, Hurricane Harvey and people with disabilities: Disproportionate exposure to flooding in Houston, Texas (El huracán Harvey y las personas discapacitadas: exposición desproporcionada a las inundaciones en Houston, Texas), Social Science & Medicine, volumen 226, abril de 2019. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277953619301121
[7] Christian Weller, Climate Change Worsens Natural Disasters Alongside Racial Inequality (El cambio climático empeora los desastres naturales junto a la desigualdad racial), Forbes, 17 de agosto de 2023. https://www.forbes.com/sites/christianweller/2023/08/17/climate-change-worsens-natural-disasters-alongside-racial-inequality/
[8] Human Rights Watch, UN Climate Resolution Emphasizes Protection of Disability Rights (La resolución climática de las Naciones Unidas enfatiza la protección de los derechos de los discapacitados), 15 de julio de 2019. https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/07/15/un-climate-resolution-emphasizes-protection-disability-rights
[9] Disability Rights Advocates, Lawsuit Provides Blind Individuals With Access to New York State’s Emergency Mass Notification System (Una demanda brinda acceso para las personas ciegas al sistema de notificación masiva del estado de Nueva York), https://dralegal.org/press/ny-alert-settlement/. Para ver un ejemplo durante una emergencia de salud ver https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/covid-vaccine-websites-violate-disability-laws-create-inequity-for-the-blind
[10] Drew Costley, People with disabilities left out of climate planning (Las personas con discapacidades no son consideradas en la planificación climática), AP News, 13 de octubre de 2022. https://apnews.com/article/science-health-new-orleans-united-nations-climate-and-environment-d631f245d0a5a408a1ba1be7dd55b167
[11] Marianne Dhenin, How Disabled People Are Left Behind in Climate Disasters(Cómo se deja atrás a la gente con discapacidades en los desastres climáticos), The New Republic, 9 de octubre de 2016. https://newrepublic.com/article/174497/disabled-people-left-behind-climate-disasters
[12] Proyecto de discapacidad de la Facultad de Derecho de Harvard, Advancing Disability Climate Justice in the Courts (Impulsando la justicia climática para los discapacitados en los tribunales), 25 de marzo de 2024. https://hpod.law.harvard.edu/events/event/disability-climate-courts
[13] Programa medioambiental de las Naciones Unidas, How climate change disproportionately impacts those with disabilities (Cómo el cambio climático afecta desproporcionadamente a las personas con discapacidades), 9 de diciembre de 2019. https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/how-climate-change-disproportionately-impacts-those-disabilities
[14] The Progressive Magazine, In Covering the West Coast Fires, We Can’t Ignore People with Chronic Illnesses (Al cubrir los incendios de la Costa Oeste, no podemos pasar por alto a las personas con enfermedades crónicas), 23 de septiembre de 2020. https://progressive.org/latest/west-coast-fires-chronic-illness-prooker-200923/; ver también Krystal Vasquez, A disability should not be a death sentence during a natural disaster (Una discapacidad no debería ser una sentencia de muerte durante un desastre natural), Environmental Health News, 28 de abril de 2021. https://www.ehn.org/natural-disasters-disabled-community-2652503611.html
[15] Atmos, Society Leaves Disabled Communities Sweltering (La sociedad deja sofocadas a las comunidades discapacitadas), 26 de julio de 2023. https://atmos.earth/society-leaves-disabled-people-sweltering/
[16] La Casa Blanca, Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad (Orden ejecutiva para abordar la crisis climática en casa y en el extranjero), 27 de enero de 2021. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/27/executive-order-on-tackling-the-climate-crisis-at-home-and-abroad/
[17] CDC, Stories from the Field: Building Capacity for Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Preparedness Planning and Response (Cuentos de campo: Desarrollo de la capacidad de inclusión de personas con discapacidades en la planificación y respuesta de emergencia). https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/humandevelopment/covid-19/stories-from-the-field.html
[18] Sharm El-Sheikh, People with disabilities gained a voice in global climate talks. Here’s what that means (Las personas con discapacidades ahora tienen una voz en las charlas sobre el clima global. Esto es lo que significa), PBS News, 10 de noviembre de 2022. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/people-with-disabilities-gained-a-voice-in-global-climate-talks-heres-what-that-means
[19]Julia Métraux, States Could Help Disabled People Survive Climate Change—By involving them (Los estados podrían ayudar a las personas discapacitadas a sobrevivir el cambio climático permitiéndoles participar), Mother Jones, 3 de julio de 2024. https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2024/07/states-could-help-disabled-people-survive-climate-change-by-involving-them/
[20] Interventor estatal de California, Report 2019-103: California Is Not Adequately Prepared to Protect Its Most Vulnerable Residents From Natural Disasters (Informe de 2019-103: California no está adecuadamente preparada para proteger a sus residentes más vulnerables de los desastres naturales), 5 de diciembre de 2019. https://information.auditor.ca.gov/reports/2019-103/index.html
[21] Alina Engelman y otros, Global Disability Justice In Climate Disasters: Mobilizing People With Disabilities As Change Agents, (Justicia global para los discapacitados en los desastres climáticos: la movilización de personas con discapacidades como agentes de cambio) Asuntos de salud, volumen 41, octubre de 2022. https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2022.00474
[22]Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, Including people with disabilities in Maryland’s climate agenda (Inclusión de personas con discapacidades en el programa climático de Maryland), Maryland Matters, 5 de junio de 2024. https://marylandmatters.org/2024/06/05/including-people-with-disabilities-in-marylands-climate-agenda/
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