hard of hearing people in times of crisis and emergencies chha-amec/ifhoh conference vancouver,...
TRANSCRIPT
Hard of Hearing People in Times of Crisis and
Emergencies
CHHA-AMEC/IFHOH ConferenceVancouver, Canada
July 4, 2008
Lise Hamlin Director of Public Policy & State DevelopmentHearing Loss Association of America
Agenda
1. Emergencies, Disasters & People with Hearing Loss: Stating the Problem
2. 9/11 & Hurricane Katrinia: Lessons Learned
3. Working on Solutions
4. Partnering for Success
5. Questions?
Emergencies, Disasters &People with Hearing Loss:
The Problem
• Lack of consumer preparedness• Lack of communication access• Lack of understanding by emergency
personnel regarding communication barriers & solutions
• Lack of understanding by consumers of responsibilities of responders
Recent Disasters
Indian Ocean Earthquake & Tsunami, December 26, 2004
225,000 died in 11 countries Myanmar/Burma Cyclone, May, 2008
78,000 died China earthquake, May, 2008
80,000 dead or missing, 5 million homes lost
Lessons Learned 9/11
Hurricane Katrina
Emergencies, Disasters &People with Hearing Loss:
The Problem
Stating the Obvious:
The time to solve communication issues is not
in the middle of an emergency or a disaster
Lessons Learned
Consumer Preparedness? Denying that disasters can and will happen to them Relying on alerts that may or may not work Expecting to be rescued by responders Expecting accessible, animal-friendly shelters Expecting to be able to get important news after the event
Lessons Learned
Alerting? Captioning or other alerts before the event
Television often did not have captioning Text alerts were not available
Communication break down during the event Landline & cell phones went down during Katrina
Lessons Learned
Accessible Shelters? Identifying individuals with disabilities Assuming individuals could hear Making it difficult for volunteers to enter Making no attempt to provide communication access
Lessons Learned
Recovery? Captioning of post-event information Accessing government recovery programs Availability of accessible post-event hot lines
Working on Solutions: Individual Preparedness
Planning for emergencies Sheltering in place or evacuating Creating a support network, Discussing meeting places
Making emergency kits Home, work and “Go” kits
Planning for recovery Organizing papers, finances
Basic Emergency Kits
Food Water First Aid Radio
Working on Solutions:Accessible Emergency Kits
Text Enabled Cell Phone, PDA, pager, batteries
External Phone Amplifier, batteries
Portable TTY, batteries
Personal Assistive Listening Device, batteries
Hearing Aid and/or CI batteries
429496712
Working on Solutions:Accessible Emergency Kits
Portable Radio, batteries
Portable Captioned TV, batteries and/or car adaptor
Glow stick or necklaces
Extra Pair of Eye Glasses …access to cash!
Working on Solutions:Plans for Evacuation
• Planning for medication needs: extra scripts, refrigeration
• Planning for self-evacuation, not rescue
Working on SolutionsPets & Service Animals
• Finding pet-friendly, safe haven for pets in advance: hotels, shelters, friends, family
• Keeping a pet emergency kit: include food, water, ID, medications, medical records, name of vets, pictures
• Ensuring service animals have their own emergency kits
Individual Preparedness Fire Emergencies
In 2005, US Fire Departments responded to an estimated 1,602,000 fires causing:
3,675 civilian deaths17,925 injuries87 firefighter deaths80,100 firefighter injuries
NFPA, “An Overview of the US Fire Problem”
Working on SolutionsAccessible Fire Alerts
Visual Tactile Personal receivers Passive systems - sprinklers
Emerging Technology for Fire Alerts
Low frequency/multiple frequency alerts
Interconnected alerts
Battery back up for alerts
Working on Solutions:Accessible Emergency Alerts: TV
Emergency Managers depend on Television
US Federal Communication Commission (FCC) regulates access to emergency broadcasts
Audible emergency information provided must also be visual: graphics, crawls or captioning
However only applies to TV’s large than 13”
Working on Solutions:Consumer Complaints
In 2005, the FCC issued Notices against 8 television stations for a total of $143,000:
San Diego, CA: Wildfires Washington, DC: Tornado Ft. Myers/Naples, FL: Hurricane Charley
Results: settlement, increased access
Working on Solutions:Registering for Text Alerts
States, localities, colleges and some federal agencies provide registries for local text alerts:https://alert.montgomerycountymd.gov/faq.php
Local news stations provide registries for breaking alerts via email, such as:
http://www.nbc4.com/index.html
Working on Solutions:
Accessible NOAA Alerts National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Weather Service (NWS) Alerts 24 hour weather & emergency alerts Some weather radios: visual &/or tactile alerts Visit www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr
Working on Solutions:Accessible Phone Alerts
“Reverse 9-1-1”
Sends out a message to targeted communities in emergencies
Should repeat messages
Should be TTY compatible
Working on Solutions:Accessible Emerging Technology
Web streaming - with captions and/or interpreters
Fully text radios
Fully text NOAA radios
Working on Solutions: Sheltering
Advocating for communication-accessible shelters
Ensuring people with hearing loss are identified upon entering
Ensuring volunteers knowledgeable about hearing loss are credentialed
Working on Solutions: Recovery
Ensuring government recovery services are accessible
Ensuring post-event hotlines, information, TV broadcasts are all accessible
Partnering for Solutions
Local government agency advisory boards
American Red Cross http://www.redcross.org
CERT (Community Emergency Response Teams) http://www.citizencorps.gov/cert
VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters) http://www.nvoad.org
Hard of Hearing People in Times of Crisis &
Emergencies
Lise HamlinHearing Loss Association of America
7910 Woodmont AvenueBethesda, MD 20850www.hearingloss.org