Disaster planners consider how to reach vulnerable

Seniors died en masse because nursing homes refused to evacuate when 30-foot swells pummeled the coast. Others died alone as their private homes filled with dirty water. Wheelchairs were rendered useless, and blind people tried to feel their way through the water.

When the hurricane claimed so many of Louisiana?s most vulnerable ? the disabled and the elderly ? the human toll prompted Maryland and states across the country to ensure seniors and those with physical and mental disabilities never get left behind when catastrophe strikes.