This special issue of Elder Update, a newsletter created by the Florida Department of Elder Affairs, includes preparation information for various types of natural disasters including hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes. It outlines topics including disaster kits, insurance, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency assistance application process.

In this half-hour webcast, a person with complex communication needs describes her experience of the Grand Forks flood of 1997 (Complex communication needs are needs people have if they have speech, language, and/or cognitive impairments that make it hard or impossible for them to meet their day-to-day communication needs without tools or technologies to help).

This checklist and tip sheet provides general steps that emergency responders should take to prepare to meet the needs of individuals with limited speech. The tip sheet reviews different methods of augmentative and alternative communication, including speech generating devices and personal communication displays.

This toolkit helps states and localities include the needs of special populations, including people with disabilities and other functional needs, in their disaster plans and disaster response processes.

This report presents recommendations from a national consensus conference on how first responders, emergency managers in all levels of government, and communities can incorporate the needs of people with disabilities into emergency preparedness and response.

This tip sheet offers guidance in emergency preparedness for those who care for and support people with Alzheimers and other dementias. Preparedness steps are presented, as are items to include in an emergency kit. Also included are steps to take during an evacuation, ideas to help the person with dementia avoid agitation, and tips for self-care for people helping those with dementia.

This video guides emergency management officials and staff in disaster planning for people with access and functional needs. It includes ways in which emergency management can involve people with functional needs in the planning process for their community.

In this article, authors report on the results of an online survey of 253 community residents with disabilities, each with a personal assistant. In the survey, residents provided information about their emergency preparedness, including whether they had an emergency plan. Those who had experienced a previous emergency and whose personal assistant had been involved in the development of their emergency plan had higher preparedness scores overall.

This website provides emergency and disaster preparedness information for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. It features American Sign Language videos, and information on emergency communication systems, emergency supply kits, and personal emergency plans.

This webpage provides information about planning and preparedness for caregivers of people with Alzheimers disease and dementias, which are conditions that are more common among older adults than other age groups. In addition to general emergency planning tips, the page provides ideas and links to help plan for continuity of pharmacological care, safety for the person with dementia, and access to medical records.

In this resource, AARP, which works to enhance quality of life for older adults, provides guidance for disaster-affected communities to help them rebuild and recover in ways that make them better places to live for people of all ages. AARP points out that the U.S. population is aging and argues for the importance of making communities accessible to and livable for older adults and those of all ages.

This article describes a survey conducted in Los Angeles County in California to examine disaster preparedness among people with disabilities, people with chronic health conditions, and people with serious mental illness (SMI). They found that people with SMI were significantly less likely than those without SMI to have disaster supplies and an emergency communication plan.

In this tip sheet, NDIN discusses the need for religious leaders to accommodate the needs of vulnerable populations during the disaster preparedness and response effort. The tip sheet identifies several vulnerable populations and presents preparedness and response best practices to assist individuals within these populations.

Disabled-World.com is an independent health and disability website that provides information on topics related to seniors and disability. This section of the website provides links to resources specific to disasters and emergency planning for seniors and people with disabilities.

This brochure provides disaster readiness tips for people who have sensory-related disabilities or limitations.

This guide provides recommendations for local governments and agencies to help them create disaster preparedness and response programs that account for the needs of people with disabilities, which will bring these programs into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

ADI is a coalition of nonprofits that do work related to assistance dogs and the people they help. Assistance dogs help humans live independently and with greater well-being with conditions such as posttraumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, seizure disorders, and diabetes. ADI works for better training, placement, and use of assistance dogs, and for better public education about assistance dogs.

ODIC provides information and resources on emergency preparedness and disaster response that is inclusive of people with disabilities and others with access or functional needs.

Create the Good is a service provided by AARP for matching interested individuals, most of whom are 50 years or older, with volunteer opportunities. It offers some do-it-yourself projects on its website, including Operation Emergency Prepare, which guides people through helping their friends, family, and other loved ones; organizations; and communities in preparing for disasters and other emergencies.

This web page provides information, guidance, and tools to help states and localities account for the needs of people with access and functional needs in disaster planning and response. The page features workbooks, toolkits, checklists, executive actions, laws and regulations, and promising practices.

This guide is geared toward emergency planners at the regional, state, and local levels. It contains information about the diversity of people with disabilities, involving the disability community in emergency planning, disaster communications, and emergency evacuation and sheltering for people with disabilities.

Developed for disaster response workers and others providing emotional support to adults ages 65 years and older after a disaster, this guide highlights the diversity of the older adult population in the United States, signs of disaster-related distress, and ways to help older adults with a range of issues, including disabilities and access and functional needs.

This fact sheet presents five key recommendations for health departments in planning to provide aid and assistance to people with disabilities in disasters or other emergencies. Recommendations include analyzing the population of people with disabilities in their jurisdiction, including people with disabilities in all emergency planning efforts, and ensuring accessibility for all people with disabilities during a disaster or other emergency.

This part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Ready.gov website provides information and tools to help people with disabilities and access and functional needs and their families to plan and prepare for disasters.

This web page features a compilation of tips and resources developed specifically for different groups of first responders, including law enforcement, firefighters, 911 centers, emergency medical services, and hospital emergency staff. Each section provides tips on how to communicate with people with autism and things to be aware of.