Around 5.5 million Australians live with disability, that’s one in every five people who are potentially more vulnerable to increasing fires, floods and storms.
Research shows governments and organisations don't always consider their needs when encouraging communities to prepare.
Dr Michelle Villeneuve, from University of Sydney's Centre for Disability Research and Policy (CRDP) who has been leading the research, says it's common for people with disabilities to feel left behind when there's a disaster.
They will say 'nobody checked on us, nobody cared, nobody, nobody thought to see how we were doing'," Dr Villeneuve said.
The best thing you can do is make an emergency plan. The best plan you can make will suit your individual needs and circumstances.
The CDRP created the Person-Centred Emergency Preparedness (P-CEP) tool kit to empower people to make a plans. Before you start planning:
- 1.Identify your strengths and support needs in everyday life
- 2.Know your level of preparedness and learn about your disaster risk
- 3.Plan for how you will manage your support needs in an emergency
- 4.Communicate the plan with the people in your support network and address gaps through collaboration
Things to think about when making your plan
- Medications you might need and do they need to be kept refrigerated?
- If you require electricity or certain devices, what will you do if the power is cut off in a big storm or fire?
- Can you evacuate on your own if ordered to or would you need help?
- How will you include your carers or support workers in your planning?
- What other resources are available to you? We've listed a few here.
Tips for different access needs
Use these links to jump to a section relevant to you.
People with intellectual or developmental disability
People with physical disability or wheelchair users
People with conditions requiring medication
People who are deaf or hard of hearing
People who are blind or have low vision
People with communication disabilities
Neurodivergent people including those with autism
Jump to emergency planning resources
People with intellectual or developmental disability
- Keep electronic devices charged and loaded with things that can help in stressful situations like videos or games.
- Have spare portable chargers and keep them charged.
- Also include analogue distractions like books or activities.
- Think about ways to manage potential sensory overload and what tools or strategies you could use.
- The Council for Intellectual Disability has easy-to-read guides on many subjects including heatwaves and bushfires.
People with physical disability or wheelchair users
- Have a lightweight or manual wheelchair as a backup.
- Show others how to operate your wheelchair, so they can help if you need it.
- Keep an extra battery for power wheelchairs and other devices.
- Have a patch kit for flat tyres and a portable pump for wheelchair tyres.
- Keep an extra mobility device with you.
- Make a plan with the people who could help you evacuate.
- I'm Okay has emergency planning help for people with disabilities from the Physical Disability Council of NSW.
People with conditions requiring medication
- Ask your doctor for options for medications in an emergency.
- Keep a document with your prescription information medicines, prescriptions and health cards
- If you don’t have your prescription, a pharmacy can call your GP for a verbal prescription or provide a 3-day emergency supply (excluding controlled substances), but you may need to pay the full cost.Have ice packs ready for medicines that need to be kept cold.
- Think about non-prescription medications or food that you might need, and plan to store them in an emergency kit.
- The National Diabetes Services Scheme has a planning tool for people living with diabetes and has tips on storing medication
People who are deaf or hard of hearing
- Use apps and notifications to keep track of emergency alerts and information.
- Have spare portable chargers for your phone and keep them charged.
- Keep your hearing devices charged and in good condition.
- Have pen and paper for written communication.
- A torch or light can be useful for sign language or lip reading in the dark or if the power goes out.
- The Deaf Emergency Information resource provides emergency preparation information in one place, in Auslan and written English.
People who are blind or have low vision
- Include communication tools like a Braille or a deaf-blind device in your emergency kit.
- Think about and plan for how you will evacuate in an emergency, especially if you do not drive.
- Prepare for your guide dog or service animal too. Keep extra food and water, dog identification details, medical records, and other supplies with your emergency kit. The RSPCA has guides on preparing pets for emergencies
- Have a portable battery-powered AM/FM radio tuned to your local ABC station and keep spare batteries in your emergency kit.
People with communication difficulties or disabilities
- Plan how to evacuate with your communication devices or have a plan to replace them if lost.
- Have analogue ways to communicate like paper and pen, cards with phrases or pictograms for communication.
- Consider downloading a communication app on your phone.
Autistic people or people with sensory difficulties
- Charge your assistive technology and/or devices
- Plan for ways to deal with unanticipated changes in routine and environment, and pack items in your emergency kit that may help with self-regulation.
- Think about ways to manage sensory issues like ear buds or eye masks.
- If you have to evacuate, help manage the change in environment by bringing comforting items or foods.
Emergency planning resources
- R4NED or Resources for NDIS Emergency and Disaster Management was designed with NDIS participants and providers in mind but has many useful resources and is highly accessible, including easy English explainers and Auslan.
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- Australian Red Cross. The Red Cross provides a range of resources to help you prepare for disasters, including emergency checklists and information in multiple languages.
- Your local council. Many councils run programs for emergency preparedness and workshops or programs designed for people with disability. Get in touch when you're making your plan.
Support workers, whether professional, family or friends should also be included in your emergency planning. If you get them involved early on, they can help you make decisions.
- Bushfire Planning: You and the person you care for was developed with Carers Victoria, it also uses the P-CEP planning tool referenced above.
- Carers NSW is also running a program Care2Prepare and after the 2019-20 bushfires, Carers NSW created this collection of useful disaster planning resources.