Resources for Responding to Natural Disasters and Storms

Many regions of the country are currently impacted by severe storms and natural disasters. These events may leave households without heat or electricity, impact accessibility to services and essentials, and cause damage to homes and shelter. For older adults and other at-risk populations, the loss of safe housing and medication can exacerbate health conditions. Legal assistance, elder rights, and aging services providers can mobilize to assist before, during, and in the aftermath of these weather emergencies, utilizing the resources and information below:

Healthcare and Prescriptions

• Medicare.gov has information about getting care in a natural disaster or emergency, including access to essential treatments, replacing prescriptions or medical equipment, and special enrollment periods. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has announced resources and flexibilities to assist with the Public Health Emergency in the States of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and South Carolina.
• The Emergency Prescription Assistance Program helps people in a federally-identified disaster area who do not have health insurance get the prescription drugs, vaccinations, medical supplies, and equipment that they need.

Housing & Utilities

• FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program provides financial and direct services to eligible individuals and households affected by a disaster, who have uninsured or under-insured necessary expenses and serious needs.
• NCLER’s training, Addressing Housing Issues Facing Older Adults Following a Natural Disaster, discusses common housing issues faced by homeowners and renters following a natural disaster, and provides tips for how advocates working with older adults can assist them pre-disaster.
• The Red Cross provides an interactive map to locate open shelters.

Income & Economic Security

• The Social Security Program Operations Manual System (POMS) provides guidance on disaster assistance exclusions.
• Advocates can work with local Social Security field offices and encourage them to take on flexibilities in the time during and after a natural disaster. This may include establishing presumptive good cause for missed appeals deadlines; imposing a moratorium on hearings dismissals; and conducting business and hearings over the telephone.
• Disaster-related scams may be on the rise during and in the aftermath of a disaster. Resources from FEMA, FTC, CFPB, and others provide advocates and older adults with tips to avoid fraud.

Additional Resources

• DisasterAssistance.gov
• Legal Aid Disaster Resource Center
• FEMA in Your Language
• Practicing Law Institute: Climate Disaster Recovery and Community Resilience: The Role of Legal Professionals
• National Consumer Law Center (NCLC)—Disaster Relief & Consumer Protection