The 2024 Disaster Resilience Survey of Texans with Disabilities asked respondents how prepared they are for disasters, what worries them, and what their disaster resilience needs are. The survey was open to Texans with disabilities, people who support a person with a disability, and others connected to the disability community. The survey, which was conducted by Disability Rights Texas (DRTx), received 405 responses.
Overall, Texans with disabilities appear to be less resilient than they were a year ago. While the significant preparedness gaps that were revealed in the 2023 Disaster Resilience Survey remain in the 2024 survey, this year’s survey reveals a population that – in certain areas – is actually less prepared and more worried than a year ago. Conversely, instances of people being more prepared or less worried were rare and not significant.
Less prepared
There are steps everyone can take to be more prepared for disasters. This can include signing up for emergency alerts, having extra supplies on hand, and understanding what your local emergency management department will do when there’s an event.
For some people with disabilities, preparing for disasters can be complex because considerations will be made on available options, such as backup power needs to keep medications refrigerated, the accessibility of a public emergency shelter, and how to provide food and water for a service animal.
In general, the majority of respondents are not prepared for disasters when it comes to the specific areas covered in the survey. And, what’s more, there are some areas where respondents are significantly less prepared than they were a year ago. For example:
- 74% don’t have a solid plan for evacuating and sheltering in place (up eight points from 66% in 2023)
- 89% don’t know how to get emergency prescriptions refilled (up 18 points from 71%)
- 76% don’t have copies of their important documents in their emergency kit (up 11 points from 65%)
Also, in almost all instances, 2024 survey respondents reported having less supplies on hand than 2023 respondents. For example, 57% don’t have enough food and water for five days (up 21 points from 36%), 51% don’t have food that meets their dietary needs (up 28 points from 23%), and 40% don’t have a first aid kit (up 13 points from 27%).
More worried
The majority of respondents indicated they are worried about 12 of the 14 types of disasters and emergencies the survey asked about. In 2024, the worry survey respondents had about some disaster types increased significantly:
- 68% are worried about a drought (up seven points from 61%)
- 52% are worried about wildfires (up 11 points from 41%)
- 65% are worried about household fires (up eight points from 57%)
- 85% are worried about extreme heat (up nine points from 76%)
Of the two disaster types that were not worrisome for the majority of survey respondents, worry about earthquakes actually increased eight points to 26% (18% were worried in 2023) and worry about hurricanes remained the same at 44%.
Increasing disaster resilience
Feedback from this survey is one of the sources that informs DRTx’s efforts to help people with disabilities be more resilient in the face of disasters and emergencies. Our website features a number of Disaster Resilience resources and we publish a Disaster Resilience newsletter.
In 2025, we’ll conduct another disaster resilience survey, and we’ll also use the feedback from that survey to identify – and address – the preparedness needs of Texans with disabilities. To get notified when the survey is available, subscribe to the newsletter or follow us on social media.