Closing the gaps: Advancing disaster preparedness, response and recovery for older adults

Older adults consistently experience the greatest proportion of casualties during and after natural disasters compared to younger age groups. In 2005, approximately half of all deaths resulting from Hurricane Katrina were among persons age 75 years or older. Similarly, following Hurricane Sandy in 2012, The New York Times reported that approximately half of those who died in the storm were age 65 or older, many of whom drowned at home or died from storm-related injuries.

25 final evidence-informed expert recommendations for intervention are proposed in this document to reduce adverse outcomes for older adults during and after disasters. The final recommendations have been organized based on the six identified emergency management domains (pp. 6-9): 

1. Individuals and unpaid caregivers domain;
2. Community services and programs domain; 
3. Healthcare professionals and emergency response personnel domain;
4. Care institutions and organizations domain;
5. Legislation/policy domain; and 
6. Research domain.