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P a g e | 11  People with disabilities: Some people with disabilities require electrical power for devices that perform life and death functions such as assisting breathing.  People in poor health or with chronic diseases: For example, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has identified key populations “sensitive” to wildfire smoke including people with asthma and cardiovascular disease. People who require dialysis or insulin face post-disaster challenges.  Limited English proficiency or linguistic isolation: Non-English speakers may not understand emergency alerts unless local authorities provide information/alerts in all locally spoken languages.  Pregnant women: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) identifies continuation of prenatal care as a priority, including sites that are prepared to offer care post- disaster and communication to women in the third trimester (ACOG 2010).  Women: According to ACOG, “Women involved in disasters are also at an increased risk for sexual assault and should be provided a safe and secure environment in evacuation shelters.” (ACOG, 2010)  Lack of vehicle access/transit dependent: Transit-dependent populations will require assistance during an evacuation and maybe unable to evacuate rapidly. Children, older adults, and people with a disability are more likely to be transit-dependent.  People who are unhoused: Unhoused people face hazards and disasters without any protections, may not be able to access needed services and shelter, and may not receive alerts.  Undocumented Immigrants: Undocumented immigrants may not feel safe accessing shelters or relief.  Political disenfranchisement: Consideration should be given to continuity of access to voting for those displaced by disaster or who lose their documentation in a disaster.  LGBTQQI: For example, transgender youth may face unique challenges and need tailored support in a disaster situation as documented by this news report (Compton 2017). Shelter infrastructure may be organized in a way that excludes or endangers transgender people.  Rural Communities: Rural areas can face increased risks from older infrastructure and are less likely to receive recovery. Cost-benefit analyses can be biased in favor of densely populated areas (Jerollman 2021).  Unincorporated communities: Areas with substandard infrastructure that have pockets of vulnerable Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) communities in them. Climate Change Climate change will intensify the impacts of many of the other hazards listed below, and therefore shares the same indicators of vulnerability. Dam Failure In San Mateo County dam failures could impact already socially vulnerable communities in some parts of the County. Dam Failure is an uncontrolled release of impounded water due to structural deficiencies in a dam, which can be catastrophic to human life and property downstream. While no dam failures have previously occurred in San Mateo County, 13 of the 21 dams in the County could endanger lives and property in the case of a failure. While the entire population within a dam failure inundation zone is considered exposed and vulnerable, the most vulnerable include economically disadvantaged and the population over age 65 (San Mateo County 2016). Dams were designed to withstand expected levels of pressure from water; with increasing precipitation due to climate change could increase water pressure beyond planned tolerances (New York Times, 2020).