General
COVID-19 Pandemic Operational Guidance for the 2020 Hurricane Season (Release date: May 2020). This guidance:
- Describes anticipated challenges to disaster operations posed by COVID-19;
- Highlights planning considerations for emergency managers based on current challenges;
- Outlines how FEMA plans to adapt response and recovery operations;
- Creates a shared understanding of expectations between FEMA and emergency mangers; and,
- Includes guidance, checklists and resources to support emergency managers response and recovery planning
American Flood Coalition (AFC) and American Public Health Association (APHA) – Dual Disaster Handbook: 6 Recommendations for Local leaders Responding to Floods during COVID-19. This handbook for local leaders provides six recommendations for preparing for a flood during COVID-19:
- Examine existing emergency plans
- Anticipate the risks of a dual disaster—with a focus on vulnerable populations—and identify potential responses
- Activate necessary legal authorities: emergency declarations, evacuations, and price controls
- Secure additional volunteers, medical supplies, food, and shelters
- Develop an emergency communications plan and coordinate responses with regional neighbors
- Set up a system to accurately and thoroughly document disaster expenses
Overview of vulnerability and planning for evacuation and sheltering
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: People Who Need Extra Precautions
Special Needs Registries. Examples of resources:
- Hillsborough County, FL – Special Needs Disaster Assistance.
- Florida Department of Health – Special Needs Shelter Program.
- Hurricane preparedness for pregnant women, families with infants and children with special health care needs. View document in English or Spanish.
Health: Infectious disease hazard control principles and continuity of care
Logistics: Evacuation transportation, shelter operations (congregate/non-congregate), and supplies
Public messaging: Risk communication for disaster preparedness, evacuation, and sheltering
The Weather Channel: Hurricanes 2020: Preparing In a Pandemic (Apr 14, 2020)
- Video featuring Jim Cantore with tips for people to plan and prepare for a hurricane during the pandemic.
WWLTV: New Orleans officials urge citizens to plan for hurricane season with COVID-19 in mind
- Notes that people may be more afraid of COVID-19 than a hurricane, “and that is wrong… the risk of that hurricane is much greater than the risk of the spread of the pandemic.” Includes hurricane preparedness tips for residents. Watch video.
Center for Disease Control and Prevention: Health Impacts of Hurricanes (May 27, 2020)
- CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health discuss possible health risks that could come from hurricanes combined with COVID-19; planning for the 2020 hurricane season while adhering to guidance on social distancing; and how community leaders, nonprofit organizations, and public health professionals can effectively communicate messages. Watch video.
Ready.gov section on Hurricanes
- This section has been updated to include COVID-19 consideration. Watch video.
Ready.gov section ‘Build a Kit’
- This section has been updated with additional emergency supplies to include items to help prevent the spread of coronavirus or other viruses and the flu. Watch video.
Center for Disease Control and Prevention: Preparing for Hurricanes During the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Advice to help people safely prepare, evacuate, and shelter for severe storms while protecting yourself and others from COVID-19.
Workforce: Evacuations, shelter staffing, workforce structure, capacity, PPE, and telemedicine
American Red Cross: Shelter Fundamentals – Working as a Shelter Worker in a Red Cross Shelter (June 2020)
- Introduces roles and responsibilities for opening, operating, and closing a shelter. Focuses on what new shelter workers need to know to work in a shelter. Watch video.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Emergency Responders – Tips for Taking Care of Yourself
Job hazard analysis of shelter operations. Description, example worksheet and blank worksheet are useful in understanding the job hazard of shelter operations.
A guide to disaster workforce planning during the 2020 Hurricane-Coronavirus pandemic season and beyond.
Psychological adjustment: Response workers and the public – training, messaging, and trauma
Do you have resources to share? Send them to Wie Yusuf (jyusuf@odu.edu) to be added to this list.