Disaster experiences of disabled individuals: Van case

Physical, social, political, economic and cultural barriers are important factors that limit the opportunities of the people with disabilities to continue their vital activities. In times of earthquakes, these factors that restrict and hinder disabled people, who are among the groups most affected by disasters, become more evident. The fact that persons with disabilities are not engaged in disaster response, have difficulty in meeting their basic needs when disasters occur, have difficulty in accessing accessible education, health, transportation, evacuation, shelter, accessible support and public services weakens their resilience to coping with disasters and increases their vulnerability. This study aims to examine the impact of the 2011 Van earthquakes on the vulnerability of orthopedically disabled, visually impaired and hearing impaired individuals residing in Van city center. In this study, which was conducted with qualitative research method, the main causes of the problems experienced by disabled people in the 2011 Van earthquakes and how their earthquake preparation processes were shaped, the problems they faced during the evacuation process, housing problems, accessible support problems, how gender roles are shaped in times of disasters, their experiences with AFAD and Red Crescent during the earthquake process, and the impact of socioeconomic conditions such as discrimination, migration and poverty on the vulnerability of disabled people were analyzed by descriptive method