Aged ignored in natural disaster planning

PALMERSTON NORTH, New Zealand, June 4 (UPI) -- New Zealand researchers suggest emergency response plans take into account that the elderly and the disabled are the most vulnerable when a disaster strikes.

Robyn Tuohy and Christine Stephens of Massey University in Palmerston North, New Zealand, say the World Health Organization has identified older adults as a vulnerable population who are more likely than others to experience greater risks and adversity in any disaster.

For example, following Hurricane Katrina in 2005 there were disproportionately poorer outcomes for older adults compared to younger people; in the Indonesian tsunami of 2004, the highest death toll was among those age 60 and older; the death toll among people 70 and older was disproportionately high in the 2003 Paris heat; and more than half of all casualties in the 1995 Kobe earthquake were older adults, the researchers say.

Demographic projections suggest there will be an almost three-fold increase in the global population of those age 65 and older within the next half century.

"In a disaster situation, the interaction of personal and social vulnerability will influence the ability of older adults to prepare, respond to and recover from such an event," the researchers say in a statement. "Emergency preparedness planning must take into account the age-related needs of older adults."

The findings are published in the International Journal of Emergency Management.