Natural Disasters and Vulnerable People
While natural disasters can be detrimental to all people around the world, they often hit vulnerable people the hardest. Looking into the past, there are many natural disasters that support this statement. For example, during Hurricane Katrina, 71% of the deaths involved people above the age of 60 years old. Due to physical impairments and/or cognitive limitations, the elderly are often unable to get themselves to safety in a disaster without help from others.
Seniors often require access to specific medications or assistance. In the event of a natural disaster, these needs are harder to fulfill. On average, seniors take around 5 different prescriptions. Loss of access to pharmacies in the case of an emergency could put an elderly person’s life at risk. Loss of electricity can be detrimental if a person requires oxygen or use of any sort of electrical device.
Also, older people are often slow or resistant to evacuating. Home is a safe place for many people, especially most elderly. Trends show that elderly people would rather stay at home even in the face of disaster because they are resistant to change. Even if they are willing to relocate, they may not be as able to move quickly enough to reach safety in time.
There are some things we can do to help. Everyone can work to come up with emergency plans with vulnerable people around them to make sure everyone has a plan in the face of disaster. Community emergency drills are also important. Many communities don’t put the time or money into doing regular drills even though this could potentially save lives in the future. We need to all work together to make sure everyone has an idea of what they would do in the event of disaster, especially vulnerable people.
Read more:
https://www.carecentrix.com/blog/caring-elderly-natural-disasters
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