State auditor: California 'not adequately prepared' to protect vulnerable residents from disasters

The California state auditor told a joint legislative oversight hearing that the state and several counties lacked complete, up-to-date plans and systems needed to protect older adults, people with disabilities and residents with limited English during wildfires and other disasters.

The audit, released in December 2019 and summarized by Grant Parks, the state auditor, found that Butte, Sonoma and Ventura counties had plans that were missing, out of date or in draft form and that local alerting and sheltering practices often did not follow FEMA best practices.

The audit matters because counties are the front line for evacuations and sheltering, and people with access and functional needs (AFN) are disproportionately affected, the auditor said. Parks told the committee: "A lack of planning is a contributing factor to failure during a disaster." He warned that failures in planning and alerting increase risk to life for people who have mobility, sensory, or language barriers.

At the county level, auditors said: - Butte County's emergency operations plan had not been updated in seven years, though FEMA…