2010 Disaster Preparedness Report - Save the Children

8/6/2019 2010 Disaster Preparedness Report - Save the Children

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1.2 million Gul Coast residents evaCuate in

antiCipation o the storm 163,105 children

in louisiana and Mississippi are displaced

ollowing the storM 50,000 Children in

the reGion do not attend sChool durinG

the 2005-06 sChool year siX Months ater

Katrina, the last o 5,192 children is

united with aMilY 37 perCent o louisiana

Children experienCe CliniCally-diaGnosed

depression, anxiety, or behavior disorder

A National Report Card on

Protecting Children During Disaster

2005Hurricane

Katrina

StriKeS

2010america

remainS

unprepared


2/5

The most vulnerableAmericans in the mostvulnerable settings aremade more vulnerable

because of governmentnaction.

Mark Shriver, Senior Vice President, U.S. Programs, Save the Children

Its been ve years since the worst natural disaster in our history struck U.S.soil, virtually destroying an entire city and region and revealing severelyunprepared ederal, state and local governments. Five years later, the UnitedStates remains seriously and unnecessarily unprepared to protect children

when they are most vulnerable during major disasters.

There are 67 million children in American schools and child care acilities atany given point on a weekday, separated rom their amilies and dependent onschool ocials and caregivers to provide protection.

I a disaster strikes, its crucial that children are in a sae place and are able toquickly reunite with their parents.

a report Card on the states

Most parents expect that when they drop their kids of at school or at a childcare acility, they are protected i disaster strikes. Unortunately, thats not thecase.

Save the Childrens U.S. Programs Report Card graded all 50 states and theDistrict o Columbia on our criteria o preparedness. We ound:

Less than a quarter o all states and the District o Columbia meet all oour basic preparedness standards.

Less than hal require all licensed child care acilities to have anevacuation and relocation plan.

Less than hal require all licensed child care acilities to have a amilyreunication plan.

Less than two-thirds do not require all licensed child care acilities tohave a plan that accounts or kids with special needs.

Almost a dozen do not require K-12 schools to have a disaster plan that

accounts or multiple types o disasters.


3/5

proGress is slow, but real

Twelve states meet all our minimum standards o preparedness in 2010as opposed to seven in 2009.

The ve states that improved to reach all our standards this year(Caliornia, Mississippi, New Mexico, Washington, and Wisconsin) all

worked closely with Save the Children to meet the standards.

As the result o a specic call to action in the 2009 report card, the FederalEmergency Management Agency est ablished the Childrens WorkingGroup to ensure that a ederal disaster response better meets the uniqueneeds o children.

The Child Saety, Care, and Education Continuity Act o 2010, introducedin early 2010 by Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and CongresswomanCorrine Brown (D-FL) would provide, among other things, counseling

and health care coverage to disaster-afected kids and requires child carecenters that receive ederal unds to implement the criteria highlightedby this report. Passage o this bill would ensure better protection ochildren.

the bp oil spill and Children

This years oil spill in the Gul has had a catastrophic efect on the localeconomy and the community psyche, much like Hurricanes Katr ina, Rita, Ikeand Gustav did.

No children died in the explosion on the Deep Horizon oil rig, but theeconomic efects will impact them or years. One economist calculated thetotal economic impact in the region would be $11.5 billion. The Louisianashing industrya large employer in the statewill sufer greatly as 75percent o Louisianas coastal waters were closed or shing in June.

The economic efects o the spill have placed enormous strain on local parentswho are orced to pull their kids out o child care, sometimes leaving theirkids at home alone while they look or work.

In addition, BP claim centers have also become overwhelmed, with longlines extending outdoors in the summer heat. Struggling parents requentlymust bring their kids with them to the centerputting children at risk to theefects o heat exposurea situation similar to shelters and recovery centersollowing natural disasters.

Enacting protectionsor children is low

cost and the lynchpino West Virginias

preparedness.

West Virginia State Senator Corey Palumbo


4/5

Evacuation/Relocation Plan

ReunicationEforts

Special NeedsO Children InChild Care

K-12 WrittenProcedure ForDisaster Planning

alabaMa

arKansas

caliornia

hawaii

new haMpshire

MarYland

Massachusetts

Mississippi

new MeXico

VerMont

washington*

wisconsin*

delaware

d o coluMbia

new YorK

north carolina

ohio

oKlahoMa

pennsYlVania

south carolina*

tennessee

teXas*

utah

west Virginia

alasKa

colorado

lorida

Minnesota

rhode island

Virginia

arizona

connecticut

georgia

indiana

illinois

KentucKY

louisiana*

Maine

neVada

new JerseY nebrasKa

north daKota

oregon

south daKota

idaho

iowa

Missouri

Kansas

Michigan

Montana

wYoMing

1

a plan or evaCuatinG kids in Child Care

The state requires all licensed child care acilities

to have a written plan or evacuating and moving

kids to a sae location or multiple disasters.

I your local community oods, does your childs child care center

have plans or moving kids to higher ground or another sae place?

2

reuniyinG amilies ater a disaster


to have a written plan to notiy parents o anemergency and reunite them with their kids.

Does your childs day care have a list with your name and phone

number to contact you and reunite you with your child?

3

Children with speCial needs


to have a written plan that accounts or kids with

special needs.

I there is a fre, does your child care center have a plan or

evacuating and transporting children in wheelchairs?

4

an evaCuation plan or sChools

The state requires all schools to have a disaster

plan that accounts or multiple hazards.

Does your childs school have plans that account or the kinds o

disasters your community might encounter, such as earthquakes,

wildfres and terror attacks? y b bky tk v mv f Jy 15, 2010.k* f v v m .

1 2 3 4


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Documents

2010 Disaster Preparedness Report - Save the Children