By: Gordon Williams, American Red Cross Volunteer

As seniors, there are two truths about disasters we should take to heart:

1. Disasters occur more frequently and become more costly every year. 
2. When disasters do occur, they inflict maximum harm on older people. 

Given projections of the climate crisis, disasters will likely become even more common. And since (according to the National Council on Aging) 80 percent of seniors 65 and older report at least one chronic health condition, older folks are at risk of suffering the most. All this makes It essential that we prepare for what is likely to come.

An excellent starting point is an American Red Cross guide titled Emergency Preparedness for Older Adults. It offers tons of useful advice on planning for, riding out, and recovering from a disaster. 

First step, says the Red Cross, is to “Gather the information that will help you prepare for disasters and emergencies.” That means making sure you know all the disasters that could threaten you.

Wildfires can strike almost anywhere in Washington State. When they do, they don’t just occur in forests, they can also sweep across grasslands and threaten settled communities.  

Even if fires themselves have been rare where you live, smoke from wildfires can blanket much of the state, threatening serious harm to older, more fragile lungs.   

Smoke doesn’t need to originate within Washington to have an impact. Dangerous smoke has drifted here from British Columbia and Siberia. And wildfires are far from the only peril threatening the Evergreen state.  

We also live in one of the worst areas for earthquakes and landslides. Are you near a volcano that could erupt, sending a flood of lava-filled mud in your direction? The state’s rainy climate makes flooding a constant threat. It also raises the danger of lethal mudslides.  

So potential dangers are everywhere. If you are long-settled in a community, you know where the perils are. If you are a newcomer, ask around the neighborhood. Check with your county emergency management officials and your local police and fire departments. Keep up with the local news so you know when bad things are happening.

Once you know the risks you are exposed to, learn how your community plans to respond to them. What community agency would alert you to danger - the department of emergency management, police, fire, sheriff's office? Who would issue evacuation orders? Do you have a battery-powered radio to receive emergency messages? Are you signed up to receive all the emergency alerts your community has to offer?  

Knowing the perils you face is one thing; being prepared to deal with them is another. “Assess your needs,” says the Red Cross. The issue for seniors is how much you can do on your own to survive a disaster and how much help will have to come from others. 

“Understand how your medical, physical and cognitive needs may affect your ability to respond to a disaster or emergency,” says the Red Cross. The National Institute on Aging, a federal agency, warns that 14 million Americans, aged 65 or older, report some level of disability that could make responding to a disaster difficult.

Does the disaster planning by your community take the needs of older people into account? If you have a condition that could hamper your ability to escape, make it known to local officials and neighbors. If you rely on an electrically powered medical device — oxygen, for instance, or a CPAP — what plans are there to provide backup power in an emergency?

Keep extra doses of your medications on hand and have copies of vital prescriptions. Keep some extra cash around since storms or fire could knock out electricity and make ATMs inoperable. Physical or emotional issues may make it impossible to respond to disaster on your own. Even if you can respond, you may have friends or neighbors who cannot.

“Build your support network,” says the Red Cross. “Identify helpers. Include family, friends, neighbors, caregivers, and care providers to build your network of people who may be able to assist you or that you can assist.” 

Be brutally honest about your own needs. People won't know you need help if you don't ask for it. 

The final bit of advice from the Red Cross is “get trained.” Help may be slow to reach you in a disaster, putting much of the burden of surviving medical emergencies on you. “Learn first aid, CPR and the specific actions that can save your life or others for each type of disaster that is likely in your area,” says the Red Cross.

To find out what’s available, go to redcross.org/take-a-class.