Hearing Of The Subcommittee On Economic Development, Public Buildings, And Emergency Management Of The House Committee On Transportation and Infrastructure- "Looking Out For The Very Young, The Elderly, And Others With Special Needs: Lessons From Katrina

Statement

Hearing Of The Subcommittee On Economic Development, Public Buildings, And Emergency Management Of The House Committee On Transportation and Infrastructure- "Looking Out For The Very Young, The Elderly, And Others With Special Needs: Lessons From Katrina And Other Major Disasters"

On September 7, 2007, Representative Corrine Brown introduced H.R. 3495, the "Kids
in Disasters Well-being, Safety, and Health Act of 2007," a bill I was pleased to co-sponsor.
Provisions of H.R. 3495 were later incorporated into H.R. 2764, the Consolidated
Appropriations Act of 2008, which became Public Law No. 110-161 on December 26, 2007.
H.R. 3495 created the National Commission on Children and Disasters to conduct a
comprehensive study examining and assessing the needs of children as they relate to
recovery, preparation and response for all hazards, including catastrophes, disasters and
emergencies.
Hurricane Katrina exposed many problems concerning the nation's ability to meet the
needs of children during disasters. About one-quarter of the people who lived in areas
damaged or flooded by Hurricane Katrina were under age 18. More than 400,000 children
under the age of five lived in or were evacuated from counties and parishes that were declared
disaster areas by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as a result of
Hurricane Katrina. The vulnerability of kids presented many unique issues. For example,
5,192 children were reported missing or displaced by the National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children as a result of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and it took 6½ months to reunite
the last child separated from her family. In addition, 1,100 schools were closed immediately
following Hurricane Katrina. These statistics reveal the importance of examining the special
needs of children in disasters. A specific focus on children, therefore, is justifiably the
Commission's special concern.
Although we took a proactive role in directing the creation of a commission concerning
the well-being, safety and health of children in disasters, we had previously recognized the
importance of ensuring that FEMA addresses the needs of all vulnerable populations caught in
disasters. FEMA is responsible for encouraging local and state governments to plan for
evacuations of special needs populations. Our Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform
Act of 2006 (P.L. 109-295) required FEMA to appoint a Disability Coordinator to ensure that
the needs of individuals with disabilities are properly addressed in a disaster.
The special needs population must also include hospital and nursing home patients who
may not be able to move quickly because of their health. The worst example during hurricane
Katrina involved 34 people who died in a nursing home waiting for help for days in the heat of
August, without power, air-conditioning, sanitation, or running water, at temperatures in the
building approaching 110 degrees. Some of the elderly in New Orleans simply drowned when
they were left behind. The New York Times reported on the work of Dr. Anna Pou, a physician
in the middle of Hurricane Katrina who was forced to make several difficult decisions in the
absence of clear standards of care for very sick patients trapped in her hospital. Since
Hurricane Katrina, Dr. Pou has been a leading proponent for changing the law and establishing
a standard of care in the event of a disaster or pandemic.
Persons with disabilities are the third-largest minority group in the United States,
numbering over 32 million. If people with impairments are included, that number increases to
over 51 million. In addition, there are approximately five million disabled children and youths
under the age of 18.
After Hurricane Katrina, Congress recognized that the disabled must receive special,
focused attention. Now FEMA must use the National Commission on Children and
Disasters Final Interim Report to think critically and objectively about guidance to state and
local jurisdictions on the care of children in a disaster. Children and other vulnerable
populations have unique needs that demand focused action plans that ensure the same
survival for them in disaster as other Americans.
Several of our witnesses today have stories to share that will remind us of what is at
stake for children and citizens with disabilities, and why there must be no more delay in
building a comprehensive plan in addressing the needs of our children and other vulnerable
populations in a disaster.
I welcome today's witnesses and look forward to their testimony.

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