In average situations, people living with disabilities face challenges every day. In adverse situations, such as after a disastrous event, these challenges are not only compounded, but are often overlooked by the masses as people struggle to regain normalcy.
The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) has begun an online survey to determine how people living with disabilities cope post-tragedy. The hope is, according to Head of UNISDR Margaret Wahlström, to reveal "insight into how we can reduce disaster risk for people living with disabilities which can then be included in the new global agreement on disaster risk reduction which will be in place by 2015".
It’s estimated that as many as 30 million people who live with a disability are affected each year by tragedies such as weather-related events and/or earthquakes.