I teach emergency management courses including Intro to Emergency Management, Vulnerable Populations in Disaster, and the Political and Legal Foundations of Emergency Management. Every semester I incorporate current disasters into the classroom and COVID-19 is obviously no exception. There is a lot of news flying at us all very fast. It’s nearly impossible to keep up. So, in an effort to help my students make connections between course work and the current pandemic I’ve begun to curate a weekly list of news articles for them to read. My focus is primarily on articles related specifically to emergency management given the subject of my courses.
I’ve decided to make these curated lists public because I suspect emergency management practitioners and others are also struggling to keep up with the rapidly unfolding response.
There are many more good articles out there raising important issues than I can read or include here but this is at least an attempt to narrow down what the key issues are as we move forward in this long-term response.
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The Washington Post: As feds play ‘backup,’ states take unorthodox steps to compete in cutthroat global market for coronavirus supplies
This article considers the role of FEMA in distributing medical supplies across the country. It is a confusing article to match a confusing situation.
USA Today: Guest opinion: media covering COVID-19 are essential for keeping us informed
This is a short opinion piece by former FEMA administrator Craig Fugate on the importance of media in keeping us informed during the pandemic
FEMA: FEMA Administrator April 15, 2020, letter to emergency managers
This isn’t an article but rather an open letter written by Peter Gaynor to emergency managers across the country.
Inside Climate News: For Emergency Personnel, Disaster Planning Must Now Factor in COVID-19
This article looks at how emergency management agencies and other responder agencies are themselves impacted by COVID-19.
Scientific American: What happens when other disasters hit during a pandemic?
There’s been a fair amount of coverage of the issue of other disasters that occur during the pandemic. I’ve selected this one as the one I found most effective in addressing numerous issues.
The Washington Post: ‘Wearing a mask won’t protect us from our history’
I’d really like it if you read this story. It’s about Burnell, a man I’ve met a few times over the year. After Katrina, he opened a grocery store in the Lower Ninth Ward. He worked on it for years with the help of volunteers from all around the country. It’s important for you to understand how this situation is affecting communities that have long been underserved and in the process of recovering from other disasters.
Mother Jones: Black People Are Dying From COVID-19 at Higher Rates Because Racism Is a Preexisting Condition
This is an excellent interview with Camara Jones who is a physician and epidemiologist at the CDC. She pulls apart how various forms of racism have caused the disproportionate death toll of COVID-19 among black people. You’ve read a few articles about this issue but this one really walks through the complexities.
The New York Times: America Will Struggle After Coronavirus. These Charts Show Why.
Speaking of inequality… this article shows how income inequality is contributing to disproportionate impacts in relationship to the coronavirus response and eventual recovery.
Buzzfeed: The People In Idaho’s Coronavirus Epicenter Have A Message For The Rest Of Us
This article looks at the unique challenges of managing an outbreak in a rural community.