Inclusive Disaster Relief
Creating equitable, accessible, and just climate responses
People with disabilities, racialized communities, and those facing economic precarity often bear the brunt of climate emergencies, yet are too often excluded from planning and relief efforts. This toolkit supports practitioners, advocates, and decision-makers in building inclusive, intersectional disaster responses that center disabled people and communities historically left behind.
Understanding the Need
Disasters reveal and intensify exiting inequities.
Climate events don’t create injustice, but they do magnify it. From inaccessible shelters to inequitable resource distribution, disaster relief systems often overlook the needs of disabled, racialized, and economically marginalized people. By understanding these layered inequities, we can begin to design systems that respond more equitably.
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Disabled people are 2 to 4 times more likely to be injured or killed in natural disasters
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Structural racism, ableism, an poverty compound disaster vulnerability
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Inclusive relief must begin with historical and systemic analysis
Accessing Aid & Demanding Accountability
After a disaster, survivors are often told to “apply for FEMA assistance,” but few are shown what that process really entails. Our first resource demystifies the steps — what to submit, what to expect, and how to follow up to ensure your claim moves forward.
Yet, as the Altadena wildfires reveal, even the best-prepared residents can be failed by the very systems meant to protect them. The second carousel explores how gaps in accountability and uneven recovery planning have left lasting scars: a reminder that recovery isn’t just about rebuilding homes, but restoring trust and justice.
Learning from our Peers
Emergency Management Policy Tracker
1996 Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC)
State
United States
A binding interstate agreement enabling shared resources among states for disaster response - key to delivering timely aid and protecting citizens' rights during emergencies.
Governor Newsom Execcutive Orders (2025 Wildfire Aid)
State
California
Executive Orders suspended CEQA and Coastal Act reviews, protected survivors from predatory real estate offers, provided food assistance (CalFresh), supported school & business recovery, and created regulatory relief to accelerate rebuilding.
AB 818 - Rebuilding Rights After Disaster
State
California
Pending (as of June 2025), this bill aims to streamline rebuilding on residential property (OCs, floods, fires, earthquakes, epidemics), by eliminating bureaucratic obstacles - including streamlining permitting and regulations.
McGuire's SB 455 - Wildfire Survivor Mortgage Protections
State
California
Passed Assembly Judiciary: It ensures that rebuild agreements between homeowners and mortgage companies remain unchanged - even if the loan servicer changes - protecting survivors from delays or contract alterations.
Rehabilitation Act § 504
Federal
United States
Guarantees disability nondiscrimination in federally-funded programs and services, including shelters and aid during disasters - affording rights to reasonable accommodations.
Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA)
Federal
United States
Allows U.S. citizens to sue the federal government for negligence-related damages, except discretionary acts; relevant in scenarios like FEMA missteps during disaster response.
Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000
Federal
United States
Amends the Stafford Act to emphasize pre-disaster planning/mitigation. Grants fund planning, hazard reduction, and tech assistance so states/localities and individuals are better prepared and able to rebuild.
SB 222 (2025) Climate Disaster Civil Action
State
California
Proposed bill allowing individuals suffering $10,000+ in damages from climate-related disasters to sue responsible fossil fuel companies for deceptive practices. It provides strict liability and injunctive/declaratory relief.
California Civic Rights Protections During Disasters
State
California
Civil rights laws enforced by the CA Civil Rights Department (CRD), individuals cannot be discriminated against (housing, employment, shelters, insurance) in disaster-related contexts based on protected characteristics such as race, immigration status, gender identity, or disability.
Los Angeles Emergency Order
Local
California
Declared a local emergency following extreme wildfires and winds. It authorized debris removal, hazard mitigation (e.g., flood, landslide prevention), and waived CEQA/environmental reviews to expedite rebuilding.
Los Angeles County Disaster Recovery Ordinance
Local
California
Establishes expedited permitting and temporary housing options in unincorporated areas after a disaster. It amends zoning rules to help residents and businesses recover—allowing temporary accommodations, rebuilding “like-for-like” structures, and restoring uses lost in disasters.
Universal Design in Rebuilding
Universal design goes beyond code compliance. It means creating environments, systems, and communities that work for everyone from the start. In the context of disaster recovery, this ensures that the rebuilt world is not only accessible but adaptive and just.
Centering Disability
Engage disabled community members in preparedness, response, and recovery efforts.
Accessible Communication
Design emergency management systems for multiple access needs, including physical, sensory, and cognitive needs.
Housing Justice
Ensure that temporary and permanent housing or sheltering meets universal design standards.
The Inclusive Disaster Relief Toolkit is a living space shaped by collective insight and care. We invite communities, advocates, and researchers to co-design resources that make disaster preparedness, response, and recovery more equitable, accessible, and grounded in lived experience.