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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You’ll notice that this week’s articles focus primarily on what is going wrong with the response. That is because a lot is going wrong. A vitally important part of emergency management is being honest about what is not working because it is only by identifying the problems that we may be able to find solutions. These articles do deal extensively with politics but as I repeatedly tell you, disasters are political.
New York Times: College Made Them Feel Equal. The Virus Exposed How Unequal Their Lives Are.
This article isn’t specifically emergency management related but it’s about how different college students are managing the pandemic. I thought it may resonate with you all for obvious reasons. Thank you for continuing to share your own experiences and for being respectful of one another.
The Washington Post: America was unprepared for a major crisis. Again.
The Washington Post has a really good breakdown of some of the big picture barriers to the federal response. You’ll note a number of themes you’ve learned about in your emergency management classes – we need to be proactive, not reactive; the most important part of planning is the process; etc.
The Washington Post: The U.S. was beset by denial and dysfunction as the coronavirus raged
For a much broader look at the breakdowns in the overall response, this article is a good investigative piece.
This is a really excellent perspective from an emergency manager at an Alaskan hospital that goes through some of the measures they’ve taken to prepare themselves.
Rolling Stone: New map shows COVID-19 is hitting people of color hardest
As you know disasters are not the “great equalizers” that some seem to think. Rather, some people and some communities face disproportionate impacts. The data is imperfect and we do still have a long way to go but it is already clear that low-income communities of color are experiencing disproportionate impacts.
The Atlantic: Why don’t we know who the coronavirus victims are?
Similarly, this article addresses the importance of collecting data on race and also contextualizes coronavirus within the 1927 Flood which we’ve talked about in class.
This article focuses on the unfolding response in Texas. The state is not publishing much data about the capacity of healthcare facilities and cases across the state. I’d point out specifically the debate towards the end about what may cause more “panic” (bad word choice, as you know) among the public – sharing information about the crisis or not sharing information about the crisis. Of course, the research is clear here that not providing the public with information causes more problems than not providing updated information. The uncertainty can create room for myths and rumors to spread. Unfortunately, this is an example where decisions are being made based on an inaccurate perception of human behavior in disaster. It’s why those myths we talked about are so important.
The Illinois Emergency Management Agency has taken an unusual, though seemingly effective, approach to securing needed supplies for health care workers… truly the wild west. I told y’all you’ve got to improvise during response!!
Here’s an example of how FEMA assistance is being used to provide aid in California. They’ve been able to create a program to move people experiencing homelessness (a particularly vulnerable population in this situation) into empty hotel rooms.
Tampa Bay Times: Florida saw a pandemic coming and prepared. Then state leaders started to cut.
This article regarding the underinvestment in the public health system in Florida is instructive on the importance of preparedness. We talk often about the underinvestment in emergency management. I haven’t yet seen an article that goes into that in the context of this pandemic but I’ll keep an eye out. For now, apply the concepts in this article to emergency management.
Politico: Behind the scenes, Kushner takes charge of coronavirus response
I’m sure you’re interested in what is going on at FEMA right now. As you’ll remember about two weeks ago they were put in charge of coordinating the federal response. They’ve been in the process of approving disaster declarations for each state, acquiring needed supplies, and more. The relationship between FEMA and the White House is a particular point of interest in trying to understand the response and why certain decisions are being made.
Washington Post: It’s time to start planning a 9/11-style commission for the coronavirus
Former FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, among others, have already called for a 9/11 style commission to review the coronavirus response. I would challenge you to consider the value of a commission serving largely as an AAR (after action report) and reform based on empirical data. A conversation we have often in class.
Phys.org: COVID-19 a ‘transformative’ moment for social science
Here’s a brief snapshot of just some of the work disaster researchers around the world, including myself, are doing right now.
Podcast: Morbid Symptoms: Episode 2 – panic
A disaster researcher put together this 15-minute podcast episode that addresses many of the disaster myths about human behavior in the context of this pandemic. I highly recommend giving it a listen.
Harvard Business Review: Lessons from Italy’s Response to Coronavirus
This article shares some lessons from Italy on the best approach to managing the coronavirus. You’ll note that these recommendations fall very much in line with what the disaster research recommends.
I think this article is important to read for two reasons. First, it demonstrates clearly how disasters and our ability to meet people’s needs during disasters are political. Second, it shows just one example of how so much of emergency management is outside of the control of emergency managers.
This article outlines the issues with testing in the United States. While it is not as directly related to emergency management I still think it’s important for context and explaining how we got here.
Medium: What Everyone’s Getting Wrong About the Toilet Paper Shortage
On the issue of toilet paper.
PODCAST Hot Take: Disaster Denialism with Guest Co-Host Dr. Samantha Montano
Finally, I was a guest on the excellent climate change podcast “Hot Take”. We talked about the connections between coronavirus, climate change, disasters, and emergency management. You’ll hear me mention a number of concepts we’ve learned about in class, offer an analysis of the current situation, and give my opinion on what is not going well.
Relatedly, I’ve been pleased to see additional coverage of needing to prepare for other disasters that occur during the pandemic. This one takes a global perspective. This one deals specifically with hurricane season in the US. Here’s one on Vanuatu which is currently looking at a Category 5 Cyclone. This one talks about the challenges some Australian bushfire survivors are dealing with as they try to recover during a pandemic. Remember that disaster recovery is difficult on our best day. This one covers the continuation of volunteerism in Nashville from the tornado in early March through to Coronavirus.