Statement Of The Honorable James L. Oberstar
October 20, 2009
I am pleased that the subcommittee is holding this hearing on examining the needs of children and other persons with special needs in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from emergencies and disasters. I commend Chairwoman Norton for her leadership in examining this important issue.
Approximately one-fourth of the residents of areas damaged or flooded by Hurricane Katrina were under the age of 18. More than 400,000 children under the age of five lived in, or were evacuated from, counties or parishes declared as disaster areas by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Hurricane Katrina exposed sobering vulnerabilities in our nation’s ability to meet the needs of children during disasters. As a result of Hurricane Katrina, 5,192 children were reported missing or displaced to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Astonishingly, it took over six months to reunite the last child separated from her family. The impact of this prolonged separation on a child, compounded by the other hardships related to dealing with a tragedy, is indeed profound.
In addition, 1,100 schools were closed immediately following Hurricane Katrina. Today, more than two years later, only 45 percent of New Orleans schools have reopened.
In October of 2007, under the leadership of both Chairwoman Norton and Chairwoman Corinne Brown, the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure passed H.R. 3495, which set up a Commission specifically to examine all issues associated with the welfare of children before and during a disaster. I am eager to hear from Mark Shriver who is, and has been, so instrumental in focusing attention on the needs of children, and to hear his thoughts on the recommendations from the Commission’s report.
The American Red Cross and the National Council on Disability are uniquely placed to identify and address needs of persons with disabilities, and especially how these citizens fare in a disaster situation.
This topic deserves our attention and I thank you all again for appearing before the subcommittee.
Statement of The Honorable Eleanor Holmes Norton, Chairwoman
Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management
Hearing On “Looking out for the Very Young, the Elderly, and Others with Special Needs: Lessons from Katrina and other Major Disasters”
October 20, 2009
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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