• Personal Preparedness Planning
• Disability Law: Know your Rights
• General Disability Preparedness Information
• Develop Your Plan
• Disability Specific Preparedness
• Disaster Specific Preparedness
• Assistive Technology for Emergencies
• Personal Communications Technology for Emergencies
• Educators Preparedness
• Work Related Preparedness
• Public Spaces
• Research on Accessible Emergency Preparedness

Visual Disabilities

In emergency situations, people who are either blind or visually impaired have specific needs such as gaining access to emergency plans in accessible formats (including Braille, large print, computer disk, or cassette), being appropriately oriented to the nearest emergency exits and related escape routes, having an accessible and timely alternative to accessible emergency alerts, and having the option of contacting a designated point person to assist with evacuation if needed.

The following web sites have more information about emergency preparedness for persons who are blind or visually impaired:

Please note: Some of the Web sites listed below are not federal government websites, and may not necessarily operate under the same laws, regulations, and policies as federal websites.

• Fire Risks for the Blind and Visually Impaired PDF (40 pp, 79 K), Text  (TXT, 15 pages - 53 KB)
  U.S. Fire Administration’s guide for persons who are visually impaired in fires.
• Tips for Persons with Vision Loss in Fires (PDF) (30 pp, 356 K)
  Appendix in U.S. Fire Administrations’ guide for persons with vision disabilities in fires.
• Tips for People with Visual Disabilities
  American Red Cross’ guide for persons with vision disabilities in emergencies.
• Earthquake Tips for Persons with Vision Disabilities
  American Red Cross' guide for persons with vision disabilities in earthquakes.