Accessibility Statement

Accessibility Statement

Summary: This project meets WCAG 2.2 Level AA. All emergency guides use plain language and work offline. If you find an accessibility barrier, open an issue with the label accessibility-barrier. We respond within 24 hours.

What This Means for You

Emergency information must reach everyone — not just people on fast connections with perfect vision and no stress.

This project ensures that:

  • People using screen readers can access all content
  • Pages load on slow or failing networks
  • Language is simple enough to understand under stress
  • Content prints clearly for emergency binders
  • Multi-platform delivery does not depend on voice or audio alone

Standards We Follow

We align with four frameworks:

Standard What it covers Why it matters
WCAG 2.2 Level AA Web accessibility rules Screen readers and assistive tools work on every page
EN 301 549 European ICT accessibility standard Supports international implementations
CAN-ASC-6.4 Canadian emergency measures Tested against real disaster scenarios
Plain Language & Easy Read Reading level and layout Understandable under trauma and stress

We aim for WCAG 2.2 Level AAA for cognitive accessibility and contrast. Both are critical when people face high stress.

How We Apply Accessibility

One idea per line Critical survival instructions follow Easy Read protocols. One action. One line. Easier to follow under stress.

Works offline and in print All content is optimized for printing and for Progressive Web App (PWA) offline access. Use it without internet.

Tactile map support We include TMAP-compatible descriptions so blind users can navigate physical spaces.

Multi-platform delivery We avoid voice-only systems. Content distributes via SMS, Mastodon, and Bluesky so Deaf users are not left out.

Known Limitations

Some linked third-party resources (such as legacy government PDFs) may not be fully accessible.

When we find these gaps:

  1. We note them openly
  2. We link to accessible versions where available
  3. We provide plain-language summaries as an alternative

See AGENTS.md for how we handle broken links and inaccessible external resources.

Report an Accessibility Barrier

Found something that could prevent someone from getting emergency information?

  1. Open a GitHub issue with the label accessibility-barrier
  2. Describe the barrier and the emergency context — for example: “cannot read the evacuation map with a screen reader”
  3. We triage these issues within 24 hours

Your report helps keep this guide life-saving for everyone.


Adapted from the ACCESSIBILITY.md template.