Definition of High Risk Populations?

This is a big question. My short answer, when anyone asks me, is "anybody who thinks they are" - because that is how they are going to act in a disaster. This is also my reasoning for preparing people for emergencies and disasters, so they then "don't think they are."

I'd love to hear how you define this unique group. At one workshop I attended several years ago, the presenter asked us to help her list the members of this population. After she filled a white board with (legitimate) high risk groups, it seemed like the only group that wasn't listed was healthy white males between the ages of 21 and 39.

I participated in a state after action report for the 2006 December Western Washington windstorm event, and the 'official' definition of high risk populations for this document (which we adopted for our county planning purposes as well) is "Individuals who have high risk for harm from an emergency due to significant limitations in their personal care or self-protection abilities, mobility; vision, hearing, communication, or health status. These limitations may be the result of physical, mental or sensory impairments; or medical conditions. Some of these individuals may be reliant on specialized supports such as mobility aides (wheelchairs, walkers, canes, crutches, etc.), communication systems (hearing aides, TTY’s, etc.), medical devices (ventilators, dialysis, pumps, monitors, etc.), prescription medication, or personal attendants. For some individuals, loss of these supports due to emergency related power and communication outages, or transportations and supply disruptions, may be the primary or only risk factor."

Any opinions out there?