“Disaster plans often fail because they assume:
- everyone can move fast,
- everyone can hear warnings,
- everyone can see signs,
- everyone processes information the same way.
But real households don’t work like that — especially households with older people, children, and persons with disabilities.
According to the UNDRR Global Survey 2023:
- 84% of persons with disabilities do NOT have a personal preparedness plan
- Only 11% know their community’s DRR plan
- 23% have difficulty evacuating even WITH early warning
- Most have never participated meaningfully in drills or planning meetings
These numbers tell us one thing:
These numbers tell us something simple: plans must be accessible, realistic, and built around actual capacities, not assumptions.”


