After a rash of tornadoes killed dozens in the South this week, "officials from Texas to South Carolina were left to grapple with an urgent question: How do we respond to natural disasters during a pandemic without exposing even more people to a deadly virus?" Tara Law reports for Time.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves acknowledged the conundrum: "The fact that the coronavirus exists is complicating the recovery from the tornado, while the tornadoes are complicating our efforts to make sure that we do everything in our power to stop the spread of the virus."
Many emergency management services were already under-supplied before the pandemic; finding enough supplies now to respond to natural disasters could be difficult, said Samantha Montano, an assistant professor of emergency management and disaster science at the University of Nebraska, Omaha. Another problem, she told Law, is that disaster-response efforts often require people to violate social-distancing protocols, actions that can further spread the virus.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves acknowledged the conundrum: "The fact that the coronavirus exists is complicating the recovery from the tornado, while the tornadoes are complicating our efforts to make sure that we do everything in our power to stop the spread of the virus."
Many emergency management services were already under-supplied before the pandemic; finding enough supplies now to respond to natural disasters could be difficult, said Samantha Montano, an assistant professor of emergency management and disaster science at the University of Nebraska, Omaha. Another problem, she told Law, is that disaster-response efforts often require people to violate social-distancing protocols, actions that can further spread the virus.
The virus is affecting other disaster responses. Federal and state officials are trying to figure out how to fight wildfires. "With the 2020 fire season poised to be severe, numerous questions remain unanswered about how large crews of firefighters will move around the country when some states require quarantines, and how firefighters will be housed when fighting large blazes," Bobby Magill reports for Bloomberg Law.
Firefighters are often housed in camps of more than 1,000 when fighting big fires, but officials aren't sure how to test or quarantine those units if a firefighter falls ill with covid-19. However, it's clear that traditional firefighting strategies will need adjustment. "Plans for how federal and state agencies will fight fires amid the pandemic are scheduled to be finalized by the end of April, according to an April 9 National Multi-Agency Coordinating Group memo," Magill reports. "The group coordinates wildfire fighting strategy among Interior Department agencies, the U.S. Forest Service, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and members of the National Association of State Foresters."
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