In the wake of January’s deadly wildfires, Los Angeles County leaders are weighing a disaster registry intended to help disabled and senior residents get connected to emergency responders to bring them to safety during disasters.
County supervisors approved a feasibility study this spring for such a voluntary database. Supporters applauded the effort to give more notice and assistance to the more than 1 million county residents with some type of disability, such as cognitive impairment or limited mobility.
“If we know that people perish in these situations, what are our answers?” said Hilary Norton, who runs FASTLinkDTLA, a nonprofit focused on mobility issues. “This is the time for people to really understand the magnitude for people in need when things like this happen.”
Amid the increasing frequency of natural disasters across the U.S. — brought into sharp relief by the recent deadly floods in Texas — state and local governments from Oregon to North Carolina have turned to disaster registries to prioritize help for vulnerable residents when fires, hurricanes, and other environmental catastrophes strike. But while some politicians say these registries are a potential solution to a public health problem, many disability advocates see them as ineffective tools that give people a false sense of security because there is no guarantee of evacuation help.
“They’re described in a way that communicates that if you place your information in this registry and you will need assistance, they will be able to plan for it, so in a disaster y …