Emergency Preparedness in Socially Vulnerable Communities

Before Hurricane Katrina devastated the U.S. Gulf Coast and focused the nation's attention on the suffering it inflicted, the Federal Emergency Management Agency was launching the Emergency Preparedness Demonstration to understand the barriers that prevent disadvantaged communities from being aware of and prepared for disasters.

Disadvantaged households, such as low-wealth families, children and older adults, people with disabilities, and racial and ethnic minorities, suffer disproportionately during major disasters, be they hurricanes, floods, or industrial accidents.

FEMA entered into a cooperative agreement with MDC to manage this project in partnership with the University of North Carolina's Center for Urban and Regional Studies (CURS) and Texas A&M University's Hazard Reduction and Recovery Center. The project went into seven areas affected by Hurricane Isabel in 2003 (Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia).

Working in individual communities, we listened to residents' needs, found ways to connect them with emergency managers and private resources, and developed a set of tools that communities and emergency managers anywhere can use to nurture connections and understanding.

FEMA later expanded the project to areas affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and the small fishing community of Bayou La Batre, Ala.--where 30 percent of the residents are Southeast Asian immigrants mostly working in the seafood industry--was selected.

GOALS

• Establish, strengthen, and catalyze a national "network of networks" of rural policy practitioners, service providers, and supporters.
• Communicate network policy issues to a range of government leaders and the media.
• Develop a collective voice leading to action in influencing policy change.