The frequency and intensity of natural hazards and extreme temperatures from climate change are continuing to impact prison systems and the people in them. Yet, the attention to prisons and the wider criminal justice system in hazard risk management, disaster mitigation plans, or recovery after natural hazards or extreme weather incidents remains low in most countries and equally among international actors.
The earthquake that struck Türkiye and Syria in February 2023 has impacted 17,600 detainees held in prisons across 6 provinces in the earthquake zone in Türkiye alone, according to the Civil Society in the Penal System Association (CISST). Authorities transferred and evacuated people, sometimes as far as 800km away, although some organisations called for people to be released. At least three prisons were shut down due to not being earthquake resistant. It was reported that people transferred were not always permitted to take their personal belongings or be visited by families. The prison administration announced that there were no deaths in prisons as a result of the earthquake but did confirm that 3 of 12 people in prison were injured by security forces after unrest and escapes in protest at not being able to contact families. In Syria, there is less information available on the impact of the earthquake in prisons except for a report that at least 20 people escaped from a military police prison that holds mainly men suspected of being ISIS fighters.
In some places, disaster risk reduction (DRR) is in place for prisons, typically in countries or jurisdictions that experience high frequency of natural hazards or have been supported by international actors to support DRR. Evacuation plans in the US are common, for example in Florida, where authorities reported that 2,500 people were evacuated from at least 25 facilities in September 2022 before a hurricane hit. In the Philippines, mapping of hazards for the 475 jails nationwide has been carried out, with the support of the ICRC. It was found that around a quarter of the 130,000 detainees held pre-trial detention in the country’s jails are in areas at high risk of floods, drought, typhoons, landslides, heatwaves, earthquakes and volcanoes.
The impact of extreme temperatures on people in prison, however, has not had adequate responses, and more countries are being affecting as global temperatures rise. Research and advocacy continue in the US where heat waves have been fatal in some prisons. Academics in 2022 reported that between 2001 and 2019, 271 people died in Texas prisons due to extreme heat exposure, notably finding that these all occurred in prisons without air conditioning, whereas not a single heat-related death occurred in climate-controlled prisons. In heatwaves in England in 2022, there were reports of inadequate supplies of drinking water and people being held in cells at least 22 hours a day due to staffing shortages, and in some cases being required to wear standard uniforms of trousers and long-sleeve shirts. In Spain, the Assembly of Families of Prisoners of the Association for Human Rights of Andalusia (Apdha) submitted a complaint to penitentiary authorities, requesting measures to combat the excessive heat inside prisons during heat waves, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius in some areas, making it ‘impossible to fall asleep, perform activities or stay in the courtyard’. In France, the International Observatory of Prisons has highlighted that infrastructure is not fit to cope with extreme temperatures, lacking thermal insulation and ventilation systems, with some prisons having windows that only open a small amount, making the heat unbearable.