ADA Best Practices Tool Kit for State and Local Governments

E. Community Evacuation and Transportation

In an emergency, people with disabilities may face a variety of challenges in evacuating to safety. A person with a mobility disability may need assistance leaving a building without a working elevator. Individuals who are blind or who have low vision may no longer be able to independently use traditional orientation and navigation methods. A deaf person may be trapped somewhere unable to communicate with anyone because the only available communication device relies on voice. State and local governments need to establish procedures to ensure that people with disabilities can evacuate the area of an emergency in a variety of conditions, with assistance when it is needed.

One step that can significantly increase the effectiveness of your planning process is to create a voluntary, confidential registry of persons with disabilities who may need individualized notification or evacuation assistance. Setting up a voluntary registry requires that procedures be implemented to ensure that the registry is voluntary, confidentiality is protected, and information is updated as needed.

Both public and private transportation may be disrupted due to overcrowding, because of blocked streets and sidewalks, or because the transit system is not functioning at all. The movement of people during an evacuation is critical, but many people, because of their disabilities, cannot drive or use traditional, inaccessible transportation. Thus, emergency plans must identify accessible forms of transportation (i.e., vehicles equipped with wheelchair lifts) available to help evacuate people with disabilities. For instance, some communities have used lift-equipped school buses, transit buses, or paratransit vehicles to evacuate people who use wheelchairs or scooters. Some people with disabilities will be able to reach mass evacuation pick-up locations independently, while others may be unable to leave their homes without assistance. Evacuation and emergency transportation plans should address the evacuation-related needs of people with disabilities.