Emergency Evacuation and Sheltering During the COVID-19 Pandemic (2021) / Chapter Skim
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Emergency Evacuation and Sheltering During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Emergency Evacuation and Sheltering During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Pages 1-32
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. To prepare for emergency events requiring evacuation, it is necessary to revise shelter planning and mass care operations, shelter staffing, and shelter design and operations with a focus on reducing virus transmission and ensuring safety (Box 2)
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COVID-19 has exacerbated challenges related to evacuation and sheltering, which is particularly worrisome given the ways in which the pandemic has disproportionately affected groups that were already especially vulnerable to disasters, such as older adults and people with disabilities. In light of widespread concerns about racial justice and police abuse that gained visibility in 2020, emergency planners also need to consider how most effectively to reach minority communities that may face barriers to 1 The full statement of task for this rapid expert consultation is as follows: "The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will produce a rapid expert consultation on how government officials can approach emergency evacuation and sheltering operations in response to extreme weather, natural hazards and other disasters during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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This document presents key lessons that can guide preparation for the potential impacts of an emergency requiring mass evacuation in the face of a continually evolving public health threat. Presented in turn are strategies for evacuation planning, for sheltering and mass care operations, and for effective risk communication.
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Issuing Evacuation Guidance • Address Virus Transmission Concerns in Evacuation Guidance and Integrate Public Health Guidance into Evacuation Outreach. Help people resolve the apparent conflict between the avoidance of COVID-19 exposure and the need for evacuation by explicitly acknowledging these concerns and advising them how to prioritize and mitigate risks.
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and planning proactively for their emergency support needs. It is essential, then, for emergency planners 4 to consider the complex intersection of challenges that place certain groups in harm's way and hinder their capacity to take protective actions under various conditions.
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. As these pressures have overlapped with rising rates of domestic violence, there may be increased pressure for emergency planners to address these needs as part of emergency evacuation and sheltering operations.
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. Emergency planners will need to coordinate with multiple transportation entities, including public transit agencies, private mobility companies, and nonprofit service providers, to ensure the timely availability of services to address this challenge should an emergency occur (Wong et al., 2020)
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. 11 Guidance on which protective measures are most effective is evolving as the pandemic continues; thus, emergency planners need to routinely incorporate public health authorities' current protocols when providing guidance on using various forms of PPE (e.g., regarding the quality of different mask materials and disinfectants accordingly)
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Emergency planners can encourage appropriate responses by acknowledging people's concerns and helping them weigh the various risks they face, such as by advising them which concerns take precedence and what measures they should take to protect themselves from the threats they face (J-E. Yusuf et al., 2020)
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Emergency planners need to consider in advance how to advise the public (including through the development of a communication plan with input from trusted messengers, discussed below) when the risks from emergencies are uncertain so that people are equipped to make appropriate decisions based on their circumstances (e.g., by considering the construction of their housing or their location in evacuation zones)
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. STRATEGIES FOR SHELTERING AND MASS CARE OPERATIONS Congregate care centers, commonly called public shelters, serve an essential function in community evacuation plans by providing safe structures to accommodate temporary relocation, particularly for socially vulnerable populations.
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2. Reduce Reliance on Large Congregate Shelters and Update Shelter Designs Public shelter operations typically involve mass care services provided to many evacuees in a large facility.
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. Emergency planners may also consider establishing MOUs with other municipalities to provide mutual aid during emergencies; however, opening shelters in communities with high internal rates of virus transmission is ill advised because of the increased risks to evacuees, shelter workers, and origin and destination communities (Pei et al., 2020)
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3. Incorporate Safety Measures in Shelter Design and Operations Nearly all aspects of shelter design and operations may require modification to reduce the likelihood of exposure to COVID-19 (American Red Cross, 2020)
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and VOAD groups, the Medical Reserve Corps, Community Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) , concert and event staff, and students seeking clinical hours and internship opportunities in the medical field (W.
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STRATEGIES FOR EVACUATION AND SHELTERING RISK COMMUNICATION The public's willingness to follow evacuation orders and public health guidance is critical to reducing disaster losses and limiting coronavirus transmission. Effective risk communication plays a key role in helping people evaluate risks and make decisions about protective actions.
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. This is because a hazard warning creates a risk perception that motivates the search for a protective action but does not necessarily identify the most appropriate protective action (Lindell and Perry, 2012)
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The likelihood of compliance with disaster-related and public health recommendations is more likely when risk communicators are sensitive to the contexts in which decisions about protective action are being made and frame messages in a way that resonates with recipients' concerns, experiences, capabilities, and resources. For instance, medically fragile people can be provided with information about where to find shelters that can accommodate their health care needs.
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For example, warning messages that identify sources of additional information and assistance, including special transportation options, can help ensure that people who have limited mobility or need a means of transportation can reach shelters. Evaluating messages with people's functional capacities and needs in mind enables risk communicators to tap into the ways in which people make their protective action decision within a broader societal context -- an approach that may be particularly valuable for supporting those groups identified as vulnerable (Lazrus et al., 2012)
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. It is thus advisable for emergency planners to recognize that milling -- the process by which individuals seek confirmation of impending hazard threats, observe how others are responding, and weigh potential protective actions -- will occur and to plan for it by providing channels and sources through which people can find additional information.
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Although some warning messages elicit appropriate protective actions even if some -- or even many -- of these elements are omitted, the proportion of the risk area population that takes appropriate protective action is likely to increase with the number of elements that are included (Lindell, 2018)
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SEAN is interested in your feedback. Was this rapid expert consultation useful?
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• Florida Division of Emergency Management Know Your Zone, Know Your Home Guidance https://www.floridadisaster.org/planprepare/know-your-zone-know-your-home • American Meteorological Society Tornado Sheltering Guidelines during the COVID-19 Pandemic https://www.ametsoc.org/index.cfm/ams/about-ams/ams-statements/statements-of-the-ams-in force/tornado-sheltering-guidelines-during-the-covid-19-pandemic • American Meteorological Society Hurricane Preparedness during the COVID-19 Pandemic https://www.ametsoc.org/index.cfm/ams/about-ams/ams-statements/statements-of-the-ams-in force/hurricane-preparedness-during-the-covid-19-pandemic Strategies for Sheltering and Mass Care Operations during the COVID-19 Pandemic • California Office of Emergency Services Office of Access and Functional Needs Library https://www.caloes.ca.gov:443/AccessFunctionalNeedsSite/Pages/AFN%20Library.aspx • CDC's Interim Guidance for General Population Disaster Shelters During the COVID-19 Pandemic https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/eh-practitioners/general-population-disaster shelters.html • American Red Cross COVID-19 Shelter Training for American Red Cross Partners https://nationalmasscarestrategy.org/covid-19-shelter-training-for-american-red-cross-partners/ Strategies for Evacuation and Sheltering Risk Communication during the COVID-19 Pandemic • Center for Climate Change Communication Debunking Handbook 2020 https://www.climatechangecommunication.org/debunking-handbook-2020 • King County, Washington, Translation Tips Guide for Emergency Managers and Public Information Officers https://www.kingcounty.gov/~/media/depts/emergency-management/documents/public education/Translation_tips_for_EMs_and_PIOs_REV_02-07-19.ashx? la=en • National Governors Association Access and Functional Needs Considerations for COVID-19 Response and Recovery Planning Policy Memo https://www.nga.org/memos/access-and-functional needs-considerations-covid-19 • California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Wildfire Action Plan https://www.readyforwildfire.org/prepare-for-wildfire/get-set/wildfire-action-plan
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. COVID-19 Shelter Training for American Red Cross Partners.
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. Principles of Risk Communication: A Guide to Communicating with Socially Vulnerable Populations Across the Disaster Lifecycle.
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. Disaster planning and risk communication with vulnerable communities: Lessons From Hurricane Katrina.
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. Information as intervention: How hurricane risk communication interacted with vulnerability and capacities in Superstorm Sandy.
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. The Protective Action Decision Model: Theoretical modifications and additional evidence.
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. Perceived stakeholder characteristics and protective action for influenza emergencies: A comparative study of respondents in the United States and China.
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. Workshop #4: Public Messaging: Risk Communication for Disaster Preparedness, Evacuation, and Sheltering: After-Action Report (AAR)
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Moffitt, Department of Economics, Johns Hopkins University. They were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this rapid expert consultation was carried out in accordance with the standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered.
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, Georgetown University DOMINIQUE BROSSARD, University of Wisconsin-Madison JANET CURRIE, Princeton, University MICHAEL HOUT, New York University ARATI PRABHAKAR, Actuate ADRIAN E RAFTERY, University of Washington JENNIFER RICHESON, Yale University Staff MONICA N
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