Age

Although many elderly people are competent and able to access health care or provide for themselves in an emergency, chronic health problems, limited mobility, blindness, deafness, social isolation, fear, and reduced income put older adults at an increased risk during an emergency.

Infants and children under the age of 18 can also be at-risk, particularly if they are separated from their parents or guardians. They could be at school, in day care, or at a hospital or other institution—places where parents expect them to be cared for during the crisis. There are also increasing numbers of children who are home alone after school. Separation of family members can cause its own havoc in a crisis, as demonstrated during evacuations for the 2005 hurricane season when members of some families were separated and sent to separate shelters and even to different states.