Disaster and destruction do not come announced or with an appointment, they just knock on the front door like an uninvited guest.
India witnesses multiple disasters on an yearly basis, be it floods, fire, storms, earthquakes, droughts, landslides, cloud bursts etc, everything is part of the package.
Senior Citizens are probably the most vulnerable group who face the brunt in case of disasters, yet when it comes to disaster preparedness, older people are generally not included in the planning process.
Whenever and wherever there is disaster, people who are physically, mentally impaired are the most affected, and to top it up, if one is old then the rescue mission becomes even more challenging.
On one hand the level of commitment, dedication and professionalism of our NDRF team, Armed Forces and other stakeholders is unmatched in the world, yet as a society we need to be more sensitive to the emergency response needs of Older People.
Unfortunately the Senior Living sector in India does not have National Standards and Guidelines on how to handle emergency situations, though the private sector may have systems and processes in place but then 75% of the Care Homes are run by charitable institutions.
In my opinion, Fire drills and disaster preparedness should be made a mandatory requirement in Senior Citizens Care Homes, it should be linked with the registration and licence, otherwise no one will take it seriously.
The attached document, “Minimum standards checklist: Including older people in disaster risk management”, by HelpAge International gives some insights on this subject, however as a nation it is critical that we should develop our own Standards and Guidelines.
The guidelines in the document are recommend minimum standard checklists to ensure the inclusion of older people in the planning and implementation of disaster preparedness and response activities.
Disasters and emergency response systems can be the deciding factor between life and death, hence it is the responsibility of the Care Home management to ensure the safety and security of its residents, that is if they actually care about them.
Document can be accessed on the website https://www.helpage.org/ or downloaded here (Disaster Management & Older People) or can be read below