36 CFR Part 1191 ADA and ABA Accessibility Guidelines for Emergency Transportable Housing Units

Benefits

The scoping and technical requirements for emergency transportable housing units with mobility features will directly benefit disaster survivors with mobility disabilities who need temporary housing. The number of disaster survivors with mobility disabilities who need temporary housing will vary from disaster to disaster. During the five year period from 2008 to 2012, FEMA provided a total of 9,324 emergency transportable housing units to disaster survivors and 991of the units or 10.6 percent were UFAS compliant.⁴⁹ The number of UFAS compliant units provided in response to specific disasters ranged from zero to 345 units. In the event of catastrophic disasters equivalent to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the number of UFAS compliant units would be greater. FEMA provided approximately 145,000 emergency transportable housing units to the survivors Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. If FEMA were to provide the same number of emergency transportable housing units in the event of catastrophic disasters equivalent to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and 10 to 20 percent of the units were UFAS compliant, there would be 14,500 to 29,000 UFAS compliant units for disaster survivors with mobility disabilities. The benefits of the final rule are incremental for disaster survivors with mobility disabilities since the UFAS compliant units comply with the technical requirements in the final rule for units with mobility features, except for bedroom lighting controls and water spray units at kitchen sinks. By requiring a means to control at least one source of lighting in bedrooms from the bed, individuals with mobility disabilities will be able to safely transfer in and out of bed. By requiring water spray units at kitchen sinks, individuals with mobility disabilities will be able to wash dishes without having to reach across the sink to control the water flow. The final rule also does not allow the use of the operable parts exception for electrical outlets in kitchens in emergency transportable housing units with mobility features since they typically have fewer outlets than kitchens in other types of residential dwelling units. These benefits are difficult to quantify, but include important national values recognized in Executive Order 13563 such as equity, human dignity, and fairness.

All the emergency transportable housing units provided by FEMA contain the communication features required by the final rule, including combination smoke alarms and visible notification appliances complying with NFPA 72 National Fire Alarm Code and weather alert systems with audible and visible output so the final rule has no incremental benefits for disaster survivors who are deaf or have a hearing loss. We do not have data on the number of emergency transportable housing units provided by FEMA to disaster survivors who are deaf or have a hearing loss.

^49. From footnote 22: We included the data provided by FEMA in the supporting documents for the rulemaking at: http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=ATBCB-2012-0004. The data is organized by the calendar year in which the major disaster or emergency was declared. FEMA may have provided the emergency transportable housing units over more than one calendar year in response to a specific major disaster or emergency.