Here is another story from the recent Global Issues newsletter on the update on conditions in Puerto Rico as of May of 2018. Much of this information you can only get here. Hurricane Maria and People with Visual Impairments in Puerto Rico By Carmen Rivera-Bermudez On September 20, 2017 hurricane Maria hit the island of Puerto Rico. The hurricane created difficulties on top of those having to do with the fiscal crisis that the government had been dealing with for months. On the day of this writing, after more than six months of the atmospheric event, the difficulties it generated are still being felt. Although lack of basic services affects everyone by making daily living more difficult, the impact to some people with special needs and those in some rural areas is more. The comments in this essay are general but readers should recognize that a gap exists between the experience in the metro urban area and that in rural environments, where at the time of this writing there are still many areas without electricity. Initial experience The day after the event mostly only first responders and some community people were out evaluating the aftermath, opening roads and getting a sense of what had to be done. There was only one radio station working and no television. Phone communication was down. The initial Central Government response has been described as slow, limited and disorganized. The tardiness in providing for needs and the lack of information made people more anxious. Feelings of discouragement in the week after the cyclone were reported. Each town in Puerto Rico has an emergency management office which compile a registry of people with disabilities. These lists provide contact information that enables staff to evaluate needs and aid in case of a major emergency. It is not a census, enrollment is voluntary, thus there is a great possibility that there are some individuals with disabilities that are not on the list. This suggests that people in need might have gone without immediate assistance for a while. Changes in the environment Hours after the event it was noticeable how much the general environment had changed. There was flooding in some areas and basic services were out. Traffic lights were not available due to power outages, being broken or blown away. These lack of signaling at intersections made street crossings more difficult for everyone and worst for people who have visual disabilities or use mobility assistives. At the time of this writing there are still many traffic lights that are not working. Aspects in the environment useful for navigating disappeared and their lack caused feelings of disorientation for a while. For example, trees or street furniture considered landmarks for people who are blind fell or were blown away. Darkness at night made difficult ambulation for people with low vision. Nature sounds like those of birds used for orientation were not available for a while. Damages on the home resulted for some in moving from their houses, going to shelters, or leaving the country. Staying at home meant discovering new dangers in previously known areas. The danger in the surrounding area also increased for driving or walking around. Street poles fell and electric cables were everywhere. Sidewalks had been damaged and debris was placed on them too. Thus, people with limited vision experienced increased dangers at home, when walking in their communities, or in the shelters. [https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/u-ViVgjN2dltv489b4vYN-QeOYe5CL4lGaLdJHl3zr134SnHg6oQ-XrP0MAKOrf8_87wuC_q-OXG9boY4jOmzcHQbZsXthjNxl7TSINS1krJ3mbAHu_qSCLWCHWFhbloSuSKu7UD-iDchkrE5A][https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/LQ0fyEdA57DOkaWVU9LbIl5ny0szDshmVXKYldJnicYDp2xHMs5TDYwbxaMo8EIvWFqrDEb_jHXYQC2WiEcEEpH5A9sZrJF2ZfWx-UVamijHDBNET7V8cj1yOVGyACsiippCk9hluphQD67C3w][https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/7PJg579S4dQNDrpQsXkPMTv5anypAI1vmmpa1JlWtRoygBrRcQReoqoLJDw9HTHSIED8RbqzYl_TN-ieqG7iS06ofjVHfMxVWB32zM1Yw6CPBVdIKfdZVK11OsygusPLVXw0DMG54XvubHymRg] Utilities The lack of utilities presented families with additional challenges. Lack of electricity and water was the norm, thus the normal routines were disrupted. Cooking and cleaning was difficult, and quality and safety of the water was reported as questionable. The need to go out of the house to cover basic needs increased. People with visual impairments had trouble getting to places of distribution because public transportation was not available. Distribution centers were few and for some very far away. These lacks also increased the challenges for people who use electrically powered life support equipment. There were reports of death of people who used machines for life support. Food and gas The general environmental conditions described also made the logistics of distribution of necessities more difficult. Food and gas were part of the items affected for everyone including the first responders and distributors. Most people were unprepared for the length of time without the utilities and necessities. Food was scarce and difficult to get initially. Without ice, food would spoil and it was not possible to cook. For some it meant (and still means) attempting to go out to buy prepared food where available, getting it from neighbors or in the Emergency Assistance Center. Chef Jose Andres, an award-winning chef from New York, volunteered and activated resources to distribute food. He organized across the island and claimed that he saw a lot of people going hungry. There is no data on how many of those with limited access to food had disabilities. Transportation In an emergency, the transportation system is essential for someone who cannot drive to move to cover needs. Transportation in Puerto Rico in general is based on private cars. Little attention has been paid to increasing the service area or supporting the development of independent providers. For a sector of the community, including those with visual disabilities, the typically limited offerings of public transportation are essential for access to other resources. After Hurricane Maria passed, public transportation took some time to activate. Some routes started three days after the event but, in general, public transportation was not available for over a month in the metro area. The urban train which moves over 40,000 passengers daily did not start running until December 27, 2017. Private providers that are the main source of transportation in rural areas had individual start days according to possibilities and needs. Uber services were not available for some time because of the lack of cell phone and internet communication. It was easier to get a connection from any state in the US to the few working phones in Puerto Rico than from your local town. Lack of transportation affected the capacity to go where it is needed to access the limited resources that were available. Communication For weeks, if not months after the hurricane, cell phones and other services that required communication such as the internet and the ATM machines did not work. Even family members that live in the island could not be accessed for a while. Furthermore, this meant that access technology for people who are blind, based on Internet availability could not be used. For instance, in the case that cell phone communication was available access to phone numbers through Siri was not. School closings The emergency situations caused school closings because of flooding or structural damage or that their space being used as shelters. The emergency is compounded by the government's plan to close schools or convert them into charter schools. Some schools have not opened yet and some students will have no school to return to. The list of closed schools includes a School for students who have visual impairments in Caguas while the Loaiza Cordero School in San Juan has been undergoing major changes in personnel and admissions policy. Teachers, parents of students and their legal advocates are raising their voices about the negative effects of these changes in their academic learning and rehabilitation. Considerations for future events While dealing with the long-term process of recovery it is necessary to continue to learn from the results of these experiences to improve the response in future events. The hurricane has shown us that while the central and mainland government should have an important role in providing support, it was local governments and communities who were active in maintaining the wellbeing of people after the events. In general, limited attention to the specific needs of people with visual impairments were reported and it is not known if they were considered in the logistics of the disaster recovery after the event. It is necessary that people with a variety of disabilities and the organizations that serve them are included in planning and execution of disaster management. Services should be evaluated by the consumers with the idea of improving the experiences based on the participant's experiences. Communication and travel logistics before, during, and after the emergency should include people with visual impairments. A general orientation to people with specific needs could be disseminated through the general and the community media. This orientation together with service providers with specialized competencies willing to act as emergency responders on call could assist people in avoiding dangers, finding services, and locating transportation for covering immediate needs. These providers could also assist in reorienting people with visual impairments where they are, to their surroundings, both at home or in the shelter, depending on their possibilities. In this event, it was also true that the first assistance came from those nearby. Thus, it is felt that people with disabilities might need special plans (for instance orientation in shelters about people who are blind) but also one that is integrated in the context of their neighborhoods. Transportation alternatives for people with special needs, to get to and from the shelters, food or service centers is necessary and should be included in planning and in the information provision. ------------------------ The emphasis of the information is to document and to make an informal sense of the experience. It has been gathered from several resources, including newspaper, television, and radio articles, informal interviews with rehabilitation specialists, consumers and providers, some of which are included in the references. Emergency recommendations for the individual having to do with emergency planning have been documented in other articles available for review when needed. ________________________________ [Title: Signature of Kevin McCormack] Kevin McCormack, COMS Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist PhD Student in Global Inclusion and Social Development University of Massachusetts Boston [Title: COMS logo] [Title: UMass Boston logo]