Disaster Preparedness for Vulnerable Populations: Determining Effective Strategies for Communicating Risk, Warning, and Response Helen T. Sullivan *1,2 and Markku T. Häkkinen 3 Vulnerable populations, including those with disabilities, the elderly, the situationally disabled, and those with special needs are at particular risk in a disaster. Communicating preparedness and warning information is critical for these groups, and recent events highlight that much work remains to be done in this area. Given the historical evidence that significant numbers of any population fail to respond or act upon warnings of imminent disaster, the question of how to deliver effective messages to those with perceptual, cognitive, communicative, or learning disabilities is all the more challenging. Additionally, tourists, recent immigrants, and refugees face challenges when confronted with disaster in unfamiliar locations, linguistically isolated, and in need of assimilating lifesaving guidance quickly. The level of scientific and engineering research that has been applied to geological hazards, for example, needs now to be matched by new research that seeks to understand the psychological factors that affect the efficacy of communications and preparedness strategies for all populations. In the context of disabilities, the application of technical solutions in the form of assistive technologies and accessible information can do much to enhance the communication of lifesaving information, yet there is little in the way of specific guidelines, and research, used by the developers of such systems. This paper explores the challenges faced by vulnerable populations and discusses strategies that may prove effective in providing preparedness information to these groups. An ongoing project to develop accessible Tsunami preparedness information in Japan is described and the applicability of the results globally is discussed. *1 Rider University, 2083 Lawrence Road, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648 USA. Email: hsullivan@rider.edu Phone: +1.609.635.2609 2 In collaboration with: Research Institute of the National Rehabilitation Center for Persons with Disabilities, 4-1 Namiki, Tokorozawa-City, Saitama-Pref., 359-8555 JAPAN. 3 Agora Human Technologies Center, University of Jyväskylä, Box 35, Jyväskylä, 40014 Finland Email: mhakkinen@acm.org 3 1