When you’re elderly and ill and a storm is coming.

In the face of a storm, many people who are older and chronically ill either cannot or will not leave. The best bet is to make an emergency kit, plan ahead and stay informed.

When mandatory evacuation orders are issued for natural disasters like hurricanes, it poses a special challenge for those who are frail and in poor health.

People who have significant health issues or are in hospice care may be too ill to sit in cars inching along evacuation routes for hours, and their families must face the wrenching decision of whether it is better to stay or go. For people with dementia, evacuations can be especially disorienting and overwhelming.

Denise Grimm, a registered nurse who is area vice president of operations for Amedisys, a home health and hospice care provider with 8,425 patients in North and South Carolina, said many elderly and chronically ill people refuse to evacuate.

“If they choose not to evacuate, it’s their right. They will say, ‘Honey, I’ve been here all my life, only God’s going to get me out of this house,” Ms. Grimm said.

“We encourage them and make sure they understand what this means by having them repeat it back to us: that if they have a medical emergency while this storm is hitting, there’s nobody who can come and help them. If the house floods, if they have damage to the home, they’re by themselves or with an elderly caregiver or another family member who can be severely injured or it could result in death. That they may be without power for multiple days, surrounded by flooding so they’re stranded.”

She added: “You can have a patient with oxygen, and the electricity goes out, they have a portable tank, but they can’t have an unlimited supply.”

Those who decide to shelter in place should also be aware that it is possible that emergency services may not be able to reach them if flooding is severe and demand is exceptionally high, as happened in Houston during Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

Following is advice from the Centers for Disease Control, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the American Red Cross for those who cannot or will not evacuate.

Make a disaster emergency kit

Prepare a disaster emergency kit with enough food, water and medical supplies to last three days, and check the supplies periodically to make sure prescription drugs, food and batteries have not expired; replenish if necessary.

Count on needing at least a gallon of water a day per person for drinking and basic sanitation. Food should be nonperishable and ready to eat. Medical supplies should include a first aid kit, any prescription drugs or medical devices you need as well as extra eyeglasses and hearing-aid batteries. If you take prescription medicine, have at least a week’s worth on hand.

Your kit should also contain blankets and extra clothes, your medical insurance or Medicare or Medicaid cards, a flashlight with extra batteries or chargers, a battery-powered radio and extra cash.

Keep a list of emergency contact numbers, including those of health providers, caregivers, family, friends and neighbors, as well as a list of prescription drugs and medical and assistive devices (including style and serial numbers), in a watertight container. The C.D.C’s care plan may be a useful guide.

If you depend on Social Security or other benefits, switch to electronic payments or direct deposit to will keep payments going when regular mail is disrupted.

Prepare a disaster action plan

Create a support network of family, friends and neighbors who can help with communication, transportation and critical care when other support services or home care are not available. Those in your network should have an extra key to your home and know how to administer your medicines and where you keep emergency supplies.

Talk to your health care provider about what to do in case of a natural disaster. Develop a plan and share it with your support network and practice it. Work with local public or private services and plan ahead for accessible transportation if evacuation is required, and call your local emergency management agency to make sure you’re on a list of people with disabilities who will be helped if crisis strikes.

Make sure those in your network know where you will go if you do end up leaving. Sometimes cellphone service is not available in a disaster and it can be difficult to locate people.

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If you rely on medical devices that require electric power, identify an alternative power source for devices. If you receive regular care like dialysis at a clinic or hospital, find out what the facility’s emergency plans are and find backup providers if needed.

For more information, contact your state and local health departments, your local emergency management agency or your local Red Crozz chapter.

There are also helpful resources for seniors in general, as well as for certain groups such as people with dementia, with disabilities and with diabetes.

For those with special needs

If you have a communication disability, make a plan for communicating with your network. If you are deaf or hard of hearing, make sure you have a wather radio with text display and a flashing alert, and pen and paper to communicate.

If you use assistive technology devices keep information about model numbers and where your purchased the equipment with you. Plan on how to communicate with others if equipment is not working, including laminated cards with phrase or pictures and Braille/text communication cards.

If you use a power wheelchair, make sure you have a lightweight manual chair as backup.

If you have other mobility impairments, keep extra canes or a walker available.

Stay informed and communicate

Know what disasters can affect your region and which call for evacuation or sheltering in place, and keep a weather radio tuned to your local emergency station.

Listen to the radio and television during a disaster and monitor your phone for National Weather Service updates and other alerts.

Use your phone sparingly but stay in touch with emergency contacts to let them know where you are and how you are doing.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/14/well/live/elderly-disabled-hurricane-safety-advice.html