Thanks for the lovely welcome. And perhaps, right in time for our next "I" storm, "Isaac" if 94L does
come to that.
We also have something we're watching in the Bay of Campeche right now. Pretty close to home, yes?
I want to begin with the topic of
"Evacuation". This seems to be the driving force (no pun intended)
with every talk I give to disability organizations. Questions such as "Should I evacuate?" "Where should I go?"
" I want to stay in my home, where I have everything, will someone just get me if I get into trouble with the weather.?"
"I dont want to leave my service dog behind."
Let me begin with this. Even in the non-disabled community, I run into many who, even in a mandatory evacuation zone, that proudly boast:
"Well my Great Uncle Billy Bubba survived the great storm of 1900." YAY for your Great Uncle Billy Bubba!!!...But up to 10,000 didn't. And well, do you think they REALLY kept stats on people with disabilities back in the day? So we don't know how many we truly lost. Let me take a WILD unscientitic guess..." a whole bunch". We can turn to a more recent hurricane, "Katrina" to verify that "too many" people with disabilities died.
So Should you evacuate?
Answer: If you're in a mandatory evacuation zone, GO.
You might want to protect your home, but what if, it can't protect you?
It would be too late to call on a friend or family member to rescue you
and emergency personnel (GOD BLESS THEM ALL) might not get to you.
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A CALVARY anymore. Sorry, them horses left a long time ago.
YOU need to have a plan to leave. Even if you are in a non-surge zone, but feel safer leaving
try and find a place to go.
YOU AND OR YOUR CAREGIVERS KNOW YOUR DISABILITY better than anyone. Better than your doctors, your sweet neighbors and certainly better than some stranger in the grocery line ready to give you the up to the minute
weather report that he/she THINKS is going to happen. YOU are in control. YOU know what you NEED. YOU got the plan.
Ask yourself: Do I or a loved one depend on electricity? For an electric chair? For meds? For breathing equipment?
If my roof does cave in, where would I go? Do I live alone and could I sustain an independant lifestyle if something were to happen?
This did happen to a friend of mine. She lives alone and a wheelchair user. She was TOLD that she was in a non-surge
zone. She told the 211 people she needed to leave. She didn't feel safe alone. They told her she was safe. She immedidately called her parents and they came and got her. Ike hit. Her roof fell in onto her kitchen area. No access to the kitchen, food, water, any supplies. She did the right thing. She knew she had to leave because she knew the limitations she would face, if something happened...and IT DID. Her plan was to call parents. She was lucky. I'm really not here to scare ya, I'm here to prepare ya and make you THINK.
Not saying EVERYONE with a disability needs to leave. I'm saying if YOU KNOW what you need to survive and staying put (outside the mandatory evac zones) is doable, you have your meds, your food, water, etc, by all means "hunker down" (Did I tell you how much I dislike that term?)
My suggestion is the following: when you create your plan (and this should be done in early Spring)
think through what you truly need. Call family members or friends BEFORE the NHC puts up those chilling words
" Hurricane Gusty is prepared to make landfall in the Houston/Galveston area. Preparation to saving lives and property
should be rushed to completion". Bingo, you're out of time, friends. At this point, YOU got the plan and you're ready to IMPLEMENT them.
If you cant find a friend/family member to take you in, by all means leave at the Bus HUB zones to get you out.
Your destination: San Antonio or Austin..whats wrong with that

(Those living in the mandatory low lying areas either board in Texas City, Galveston, Pasadena- I'll put out the info for you)
IF you choose to do this, you MUST register. 211. Yeah, I know the ups and downs of this - and I'm sure you could share your stories too. However, its a start. You also need to register with your OEM (Office of Emergency Preparedness) in your city.
By registering, they have a count of how many may show up to the departure party. Think of it as an RSVP kinda thing.
You dont want to crash the party and be booted off the bus
Do it now. Today. Actually last Spring would be have been ideal - but I'll get ya up to speed.
TEXAS IS A PET FRIENDLY SHELTER STATE. Dont make me say this twice.
AND BY LAW YOUR SERVICE DOG IS COUNTED AS A PERSON. Don't make me say this twice.
So what did we learn? You got the power and if you NEED power, you will make plans to leave.
WIth family or friends or if need be, shelter somewhere away from the storm.
Register.
For my friends in the deaf community, FEMA.gov has emergency information in ASL! Please check it out.
Let me say, Texas leads the nation in emergency preparedness. There are SO many good people working
it for the disability community, but like I said, YOU have to educate and empower yourselves.
Prepare today. Panicking leads to mistakes and could be hazardous to your health.
I hope this information is helpful. Open to discussion. Thank you.
If you really need some help, message me.
"because you are disabled, you don't have to be a victim." ™