Charminae George
On the heels of the severe conditions wrought by Tropical Storm Philippe, Bernard Warner, president of the local disability association, said that mandatory evacuation of persons with disabilities should be highly considered.
“Even if they feel like they are safe in their homes, there still needs to be a mandatory evacuation programme where these people are taken to safe homes ahead of any disaster,” he told Observer on Tuesday.
Warner, who is president of the Antigua and Barbuda Association of Persons with Disabilities, expressed dissatisfaction that many persons in the disabled community were not evacuated prior to the passage of Philippe.
“My data suggests that many people were not evacuated to safe havens. As a result, they faced the brunt of the storm in very precarious situations such as damaged homes, homes in low-lying areas,” he stated.
He explained that persons who are paralysed or have physical disabilities are among those greatly impacted by storms due to their mobility challenges.
He also reiterated the need for sign language interpreters to be on the nation’s television station, especially in times of impending inclement weather.
“The communication and information needs to be upgraded in terms of sign language interpreters on the media when the meteorologists are giving the update with the storm,” he said.
Although many individuals in the deaf community are able to read the lips of persons presenting on television, Warner indicated that the interpreters are still necessary to facilitate the equal dissemination of critical information.
“Lip reading is not enough; there should be a trained sign language interpreter or communicator that should be on our national television…so they can better prepare,” he stated.
Efforts to contact Information Minister Melford Nicholas for comment on the matter of a sign language interpreter were unsuccessful.
Additionally, a representative of the National Office of Disaster Services was contacted for an estimated figure of disabled individuals who moved due to the storm. However, it was indicated that collation of this and other information related to the passage of Tropical Storm Philippe was still ongoing.