COVID-19 Pandemic Operational Guidance for the 2020 Hurricane Season
Background On March 13, 2020, President Donald J. Trump ▪ declared the ongoing novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic to be of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant a nation onwi wide de emergen ency cy declaration aration for all states, es, tribes, es, territor ories es. During the 2020 Hurricane Season and for ▪ emergent incidents, emergency managers should: Anticipate added comp mplexit xities s for respo pons nse and recover ery operati tions ns Prepare preventative measures to prot otec ect t the health h and safety ety of disaster survivors and workforce. Continue to operate under a framework of a locally y execut uted, d, state e managed, d, and federa rally y suppo pported. 2 Federal Emergency Management Agency
Overview The COVID-19 Pandemic Operational Guidance for the 2020 Hurricane Season : ▪ Describes anticipated challenges to disaster operations posed by COVID-19 and describe planning considerations for emergency managers; Outlines how FEMA plans to adapt response and recovery operations to: ▪ Ensure prioritization for life safety, life sustainment, and workforce protection, and Maintain the delivery of FEMA’s programs and help to solve complex problems by using whole -of- community disaster assistance to the highest level possible; ▪ Allows SLTT emergency managers to prepare and plan accordingly based on FEMA’s operational posture and create a shared understanding of expectations between FEMA and SLTTs prior to hurricane season; ▪ Provides guidance, checklists, and resources to enable emergency managers to best adapt response and recovery plans. 3 Federal Emergency Management Agency
Adapting to the COVID-19 Operating Environment ▪ FEMA will continue to coordinate closely with jurisdictions to align or adjust disaster operations in coordination with available health information and the White House Guidelines for Opening Up America Again. ▪ There will be adaptions at all levels of emergency management in the COVID-19 environment, but to the greatest extent possible, the foundational concepts will remain intact. Preparedness, response, and recovery planning and COOP at all levels ▪ must: Be built upon scalable, flexible, and adaptable coordination Ensure successful incident stabilization of community lifelines Provide programs and services to disaster survivors 4 Federal Emergency Management Agency
Response Planning for the 2020 Hurricane Season - FEMA’s Posture ▪ SLTTs should be prepared to lead scalable and flexible response operations and adapt to how FEMA implements disaster assistance and delivers programs. In partnership between FEMA Regional Administrators, Field Leadership, and HQ, operational decisions are made at the lowest possible level, with considerations for local health guidance and phase of reopening. Including decisions for deployments to the field, safety requirements, and new FEMA disaster • facilities. FEMA’s national personnel assets remain prioritized and ready for deployments for life -saving and life- sustaining response operations. FEMA is aligning resources, awarding contracts, and readying Logistics personnel for rapid response operations. 5 Federal Emergency Management Agency
Response Planning for the 2020 Hurricane Response Considerations Season - SLTT Planning ❑ Do you have a plan to prioritize resources to ▪ Leverage efforts underway for COVID-19 response, including stabilize the Communication Lifeline? maintaining current command and control roles and ❑ Do hospitals in evacuation zones have a responsibilities. plan to not only evacuate patients, but also ▪ Emphasize stabilization of Communication Lifeline. ventilators, dialysis machines, and stockpiled PPE? ▪ Review existing plans for protective measures to support deployed personnel, survivors, and associated disaster ❑ Have you considered the extra time it may take to evacuate given the need for social facilities, including Point of Distribution (POD) sites. distancing for increased mass transit modes ▪ Evacuation planning should consider community demographics, may require? stay-at-home orders, individuals at higher risk of serious ❑ Have you considered updating your vendor disease, individuals with disabilities, and others with access contracts and agreements to procure and and functional needs. deliver supplies and equipment in case of a shortage? 6 Federal Emergency Management Agency
Recovery Planning for the 2020 Hurricane Season - FEMA’s Posture ▪ FEMA will adapt its traditional field operations and program delivery models to expedite services and assistance to SLTT partners. Adjusted approach for congregate sheltering, including standards for occupancy rates, equipment requirements, and assessment of vulnerable populations. Provide greater flexibility for the eligibility of both congregate and non-congregate options for reimbursement under the Public Assistance program Use of Disaster Recovery Centers (DRC) or Disaster Survivor Assistance (DSA) teams in alignment with local public health guidance and the phased reopening of impacted area. Virtual program delivery and remote support for: • Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA) • Public Assistance (PA) • Individual and Household Program (IHP) • Hazard Mitigation (HM) Direct Housing Environmental and Historic Preservation (EHP) • • • Community Services • Interagency Recovery Coordination 7 Federal Emergency Management Agency
Recovery Planning for the 2020 Hurricane Recovery Considerations Season - SLTT Planning ❑ Do you have a plan to support virtual PDAs ▪ Reassess plans to ensure they can effectively execute and inspections? sheltering and other mass care activities in coordination with ❑ How will you manage building and housing public health officials and updated guidance. inspections and re-occupancy procedures ▪ Review and revalidate emergency operations and sheltering given constraints and impacts of COVID-19? plans; proactively preparing accessible and multi-lingual ❑ How will you maximize community input and messaging; modifying resource acquisition and allocation plans. buy-in for your recovery efforts with ▪ Account for FEMA’s virtual work for IA, PA, and HM programs considerations for all members of the and ensure communities are aware of registration processes. community, including vulnerable ▪ Modify existing recovery plans and structures to not only populations? support current COVID-19 recovery operations and outcomes, ❑ Do you have access to associations that can but also accommodate potential future disasters. support disaster-related projects? 8 Federal Emergency Management Agency
Mass Care and Emergency Assistance Planning Effort Operational realities of the COVID-19 environment ▪ will require adaptations to many aspects of Mass Care and Emergency Assistance service areas. FEMA would like to support planning efforts to ▪ ensure we are all prepared to meet the need. ▪ Requesting feedback on planning questions: Evacuation Planning and Communication Congregate and Non-Congregate Sheltering Accessibility Transition from Immediate Sheltering to Sustained Recovery Federal Assistance 9 Federal Emergency Management Agency
Additionally, FEMA developed Exercise Starter Kits to Checklists and Resources conduct planning workshops on returning to full operations that build upon reconstitution planning principles and reopening phases. The COVID-19 Pandemic Operational Guidance for the 2020 Hurricane Season contains checklists and More information can be found at https://www.fema.gov/media- library/assets/documents/188077 resources on additional COVID-19 related guidance to help emergency managers prepare, including: ▪ Resources and links for more information from FEMA and other organizations, such as CDC ▪ Planning consideration checklists for preparedness, response, and recovery ▪ Public messaging guidance that can be used by SLTTs to communicate hurricane preparedness actions to individuals and community organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic 10 Federal Emergency Management Agency
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