Everyone Has the Right to be Rescued in a Disaster
Jordan Melograna, Right to Be Rescued
“No disasters are natural.” This is the opening line of the short documentary, The Right to be Rescued, which documents the experiences of people with disabilities during Hurricane Katrina. When communities do not make emergency plans that serve the needs of everyone, it causes a human-made disaster for those left out and left behind. As severe weather events such as hurricanes, floods, and wildfires become more likely due to climate change, it is more urgent than ever for communities to develop inclusive emergency plans.
Unfortunately, such plans are rarely put in place before it’s already too late. In 2005, New Orleans’ preparedness plan and rescue effort were famously inept, causing an outsized negative impact on people with disabilities. The confusing evacuation orders were a problem for everyone, but for those with disabilities who do not drive, or who cannot afford a car, evacuation wasn’t even an option. Stuck at shelters like the Superdome, many found the conditions deplorable. Even worse, in a city that lacks good accessible transportation options in the best of times, getting to a shelter in the first place was impossible for many people with disabilities. For those stranded on freeway overpasses, the Louisiana summer impacted everyone. But for some, who depend on medication, are vulnerable to extreme heat, or depend on life-saving technology like oxygen tanks or ventilators, the situation was deadly.
And then there were tragedies that only befell the most vulnerable. Memorial Hospital staff evacuated the building amidst a power outage caused by the flooding. Because there was no plan to get the people who were most ill out of the building, the medical staff chose to euthanize them instead. At St. Rita’s nursing home in St. Bernard Parish, the owners abandoned the people in their care, leaving them to drown when the levees broke. In both cases, criminal charges were brought. More importantly, in both cases, the situation could have been avoided altogether with better emergency planning.
There’s a lot to think about when making a plan that includes everyone. No one’s saying it will be easy. But the whole point of emergency preparedness is to consider all possible outcomes: to plan for what you can anticipate as best you can so you’re not improvising in the middle of a disaster. We don’t know exactly when a hurricane will make landfall nor exactly where. But we do know that hurricanes happen, and we know that climate change is likely making them more severe. We know that as sea levels rise, coastal cities will be more vulnerable to dangerous storm surge. We know extreme droughts, floods, and wildfires are the new normal.
We also know that one-fifth of the American population experiences some form of disability. We need to train our emergency responders and stock our shelters with the needs of people with disabilities in mind.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans has taken steps to improve their emergency planning. New York and Los Angeles, albeit after lawsuits, have also started revising their plans. Both FEMA and the American Red Cross are developing new resources focused on this population. Others are doing important research to support the role people with disabilities have to play in the climate justice movement.
You have the power to spur change in your community. Ask your your city council member, ask your boss, ask your principal — what is our plan? Does it includes the needs of people with disabilities? If you don’t like the answer, demand a better plan, because everyone has the right to the be rescued.
For more resources, please visit RightToBeRescued.com
The Right to be Rescued was produced by Rooted in Rights, an international, cross-disability rights video and social media project based at Disability Rights Washington in Seattle. Jordan Melograna is the Creative Director of Rooted in Rights and the Director/Producer of The Right to be Rescued.
