by Charles L. Burrows, Esq.

Disaster Relief Staff Attorney, Legal Aid of Southeastern PA

(April 2023)

Note: A version of this article appeared in the Montgomery Bar Association’s Sidebar Magazine’s Spring 2023 edition, published in April. To read it in Sidebar, please see: https://bit.ly/sidebar-spring-2023, pages 23-24. Additional links are provided in LASP’s website news article.

**Michelle R. Dempsky** (second from right), LASP Staff Attorney & co-chair of MBA’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee, answers a question about landlord-tenant law at a **Town Hall for Hurricane Ida survivors hosted by ACLAMO** at Calvary Baptist Church of Norristown on Nov. 16, 2022. She is joined by **Brian Baer** (at left), Executive Director, The Elevated Studio; **Marisol Perez**, Realtor & ACLAMO Board of Directors; and **Daniel Cortes**, Managing Immigration Attorney with the Community Justice Project (CJP).

In September 2021, Hurricane Ida devastated parts of the Southeastern PA region. In Montgomery County, tornadoes destroyed more than 200 homes in Upper Dublin Township, and flooding in Norristown and Bridgeport wiped out dozens of affordable rental units. (4,6) Three of the region’s five hurricane-related deaths were in Montgomery County.

Legal Aid of Southeastern PA (LASP) sent attorneys and staff promptly to disaster relief centers to assist those impacted. A year and a half later, LASP continues to provide disaster-related legal services to low-income residents in Montgomery County, including at an October outreach clinic at Riverfront Park in Norristown, near where some of the destroyed rental units once stood. In fact, a 2019 Legal Services Corporation (LSC) report on disaster-related legal aid finds that legal issues exist as many as five to six years out from the disaster itself. (7)

Certain types of disasters are likely to be on the rise, according to the 2021 Pennsylvania Climate Impacts Assessment conducted by the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP). The assessment indicates that extreme storms are expected to be stronger and lead to heavier rains. Cumulative precipitation from storms is expected to increase as well. (1,2).

There is evidence that already vulnerable individuals and communities are disproportionately harmed by disasters. An E&E (Energy & Environment) News analysis of federal flood insurance payments shows that flooding in the U.S. disproportionately harms African American neighborhoods.

A report published in March 2019 by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine found that while urban flooding affects a wide range of demographics, it is most harmful to minorities, low-income residents, and others who have limited resources to handle the damage and disruption.

Pennsylvania’s 2021 Climate Change Impacts Assessment also acknowledges this disparity. For the first time, the 2021 assessment included an analysis of environmental justice and equity. The results highlighted that already disadvantaged populations will face an increased impact as a result of climate change. The report concluded, “As Pennsylvania works to reduce its climate risks, care needs to be taken that these inequitable impacts are addressed, and that adaptation efforts do not inadvertently exacerbate existing inequities.” (2)

Lessons learned from Hurricane Ida show that integration of free legal services is critical to recovery. Without legal advice and representation, disaster survivors may lose out on Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) benefits for which they were eligible, face illegal practices by landlords, or struggle unsuccessfully with insurance claims. Longer term, disaster-related economic hardships may culminate in foreclosure or bankruptcy. The disparate impact on already vulnerable individuals and communities heightens the importance of access to free legal assistance.

LASP encourages attorneys to become involved in planning for disasters for themselves and their families, for their legal practices, and for their communities.

LASP also asks attorneys to consider pro bono service to help address the long-term legal impacts of Hurricane Ida on individuals with low incomes.

To learn more, contact Kathryn Palladino, Esq., LASP Staff Attorney and Montgomery County Pro Bono Coordinator, at 484-209-0892 or kpalladino@lasp.org.

Also of possible interest

“Majority of disabled people never go home after disasters” by Thomas Frank | E&E News (Energy & Environment) | Jan. 6, 2023
https://www.eenews.net/articles/majority-of-disabled-people-never-go-home-after-disasters/

The Calm After the Storm: 45 Years of the ABA Young Lawyers Division’s Disaster Legal Services Program
by Andrew Jack VanSingel } Touro Law Review } 2019
https://digitalcommons.tourolaw.edu/lawreview/vol35/iss3/7/

VanSingel, Andrew Jack (2019) "The Calm After the Storm: 45 Years of the ABA Young Lawyers Division’s Disaster Legal Services Program," Touro Law Review: Vol. 35: No. 3, Article 7. Available at: https://digitalcommons.tourolaw.edu/lawreview/vol35/iss3/7

Read the article in spring 2023 issue of Sidebar Magazine, published by the Montgomery Bar Association. (Please see pages 23-24.)

MBA Sidebar ~ Spring 2023

Mitigating the impact of climate change and disasters for low-income residents: Legal aid & local attorneys play a role

Further reading: Climate change, Legal Services Corp. Disaster Task Force Report, & Hurricane Ida recaps

Also of possible interest

Read the article in spring 2023 issue of Sidebar Magazine, published by the Montgomery Bar Association. (Please see pages 23-24.)

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