Emergency Preparedness Toolkit for Persons with Disabilities Manual
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D, HAV ARE E A EP P R LA P N E Emergency B : Preparedness Toolkit . F .. o s r ie P it er il son isab s with D e and ls AnyBODY E Adapted and Endorsed by the Wisconsin Council on Physical Disabilities Revised May 2021 About the Emergency Preparedness Toolkit This toolkit is a product of years of work by past and present members of the Wisconsin Council on Physical Disabilities. After witnessing what happened to people with physical disabilities in the wake of hurricanes Rita and Katrina, the Council knew more work needed to be done to ensure the safety and protect the lives of people, especially those with physical disabilities, before and during emergencies and natural disasters. The Emergency Preparedness Toolkit was originally developed by the Wisconsin Association of the Deaf in partnership with the Wisconsin Office for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. The Wisconsin Council on Physical Disabilities expresses gratitude to the Association for allowing them to utilize these materials and to modify them to address the needs of people with physical and other disabilities. The Wisconsin Council on Physical Disabilities Emergency Preparedness Toolkit serves as a resource tool providing all people, particularly those individuals with physical or other disabilities, emergency preparedness information including tips, checklists, wallet card, visual communications tool, and other resources to be prepared and have a plan for emergencies and natural disasters. The Wisconsin Council on Physical Disabilities and the Wisconsin Association of the Deaf disclaim any liability for any direct, indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages, losses, or expenses arising in connection with your use of or inability to use the this toolkit, or in connection with any failure of acts related to disaster or emergency preparedness. To download an electronic copy of this toolkit, or for more information, please visit the Wisconsin Council on Physical Disabilities website at: cpd.wisconsin.gov/toolkit.htm. If you need a copy of the toolkit in an accessible format, please contact us at 608-266-3118. Acknowledgements This material was made possible in part, by a cooperative grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP), grant numbers: CFDA 93.074-CDC-TP17-1701 and CFDA 93.074-CDCRFA-TP12-1201. Additional support for this material was provided in part by the Wisconsin Division of Public Health, Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program, grant number 5U90TP000561-05 from CDC PHEP. The views expressed in the materials do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government or the State of Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Council on Physical Disabilities extends thanks and recognizes the contributions of the following organizations: Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); American Red Cross; National Fire Protection Association; Wisconsin Division of Public Health, Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program, Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Bureau of Aging and Disability Resources and Office for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing; Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Bureau of Information Technology Services; and Wisconsin Association of the Deaf. The Wisconsin Council on Physical Disabilities expresses deep gratitude to the following people who have provided guidance and/or contributed to the development of this toolkit for people with physical and other disabilities: Jon Baltmanis, Jeff Bronk, Joe Cordova, Janet Devore, Matthew G. Duffy, Melanie Kaplan, Lisa Kelly, Katy Schmidt, Kelly Scott, Michael Steinhauer, and Dr. Sandra Stokes. A special thanks to the Wisconsin Council on Physical Disabilities Emergency Preparedness Committee who tirelessly worked on making this emergency preparedness toolkit for people with physical disabilities a reality: Karen Secor, Chair of the Committee; Ben Barrett; Jeff Fox; Joanne Grebner; John Meissner; and Kurt Roskopf. The Council would also like to express its sincere appreciation to Nicole Johnson for the logo and artwork she designed for the toolkit and Jill O’Leske for the graphic design work provided by Impact Design (www.impactdesign.biz) to create the toolkit. The Emergency Preparedness Committee members want to send a special thank you to Lisa Sobczyk for her assistance in the final review and printing of the toolkit and assistance in planning toolkit distribution and outreach presentations. This toolkit is dedicated to the memory of Dan Johnson, who was a tireless advocate to people with physical disabilities and provided staff support to the Wisconsin Council on Physical Disabilities for over thirty years. This project would not have been possible without him. May 2021 BE PREPARED, HAVE A PLAN TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction How to Use This Guide (updated) .........................................1 BE PREPARED, HAVE A PLAN: TOOLS TO BE PREPARED (green tab) What’s Inside This Toolkit?. 3 Emergency Checklists ............................................4 Medical Emergency Wallet Card ....................................6 Family Emergency Planning Form ...................................7 Evacuation Planning Guide ........................................13 Evacuating Yourself and Your Family .....................................13 Basic Fire Escape Planning .............................................15 Escape Planning in Tall Buildings ........................................16 Evacuation Procedures/Evacuation Devices ...............................17 Responder Tips for Professionals and Volunteers . .19 Communicating with People in Emergency Situations ......................19 Disability Etiquette. .20 Tips for Effective Communication .......................................22 Online Toolkit ..................................................27 Visual Communications Tool .......................................27 Important Documents Checklist ...................................28 Document Storage ..............................................28 SPRING (light green tab) Thunderstorm. .29 Tornado. 31 Flood ...............................................................33 SUMMER (yellow tab) Extreme Heat ........................................................35 Drought. 37 Wildfire .............................................................38 c BE PREPARED, HAVE A PLAN: FALL (orange tab) Winterizing ..........................................................41 House Fire. 42 WINTER (light blue tab) Winter Weather .......................................................47 Frostbite ............................................................50 Hypothermia .........................................................51 OTHER EMERGENCIES AND DISASTERS (purple tab) Hazardous Materials. 53 Household Chemical Emergency ........................................55 Power Outages. 57 Explosions. 59 Nuclear Power Plants/Transportation of Nuclear Waste ......................60 Epidemic or Pandemic (updated) ........................................62 Biological Threat. .65 GLOBAL WEATHER (navy blue tab) Travel ...............................................................67 Earthquake ..........................................................68 Hurricane. .70 Tsunami .............................................................72 Volcano . 73 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) ...................... 75 References ........................................... 91 Resources ........................................... 92 Basic Rights to Access for People with Disabilities in Emergencies and Disasters ............................. 97 EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS TOOLKIT Introduction When something bad happens, do you know what to do? Do you worry that you won’t know a natural disaster is coming? Are you afraid rescuers won’t find you if you need help getting out? Protect what matters to you. Know when a disaster or bad weather is coming. Know what to do when different kinds of emergencies occur. Your best chance of survival is to have a plan and be prepared. After a large natural disaster, you may have to wait to be rescued. Help may not arrive for a few hours, five days, or even a week! You will have to take care of yourself, your family, and pets until help comes. This manual is the first step you can take to be prepared and informed! Here are some things you can do to get started: 1. Set up a meeting. Talk with everyone in your household. Review this manual together. Plan how you will respond to emergencies. Remember, they can happen any time. Prepare for what you will do if you are at home, at school, at work, and while you’re away on vacation. 2. Take responsibility. Give duties to each person in your home. Make a plan to work as a team. 3. Plan ahead. You may be separated from your family during an emergency (such as a house fire or evacuation). Plan where you will meet and how you will contact one another. Ask questions: How will you get there? Which way will you go? Is there an evacuation shelter nearby? (For example, you may choose to stay at a hotel or with friends or relatives in a safe location.) 4. Discuss how you will communicate with each other. Plan how you will contact your family or other people you live with to let them know you’re safe. Talk about how you will find one another. 5. Make plans for your pet(s)/service animal(s). Decide how you will take care of your pet(s)/ service animal(s) in a disaster.