Introduction
The pandemic caused by the coronavirus has become a challenge for world countries, requiring significant changes in everyday life. Moreover, other threats periodically hit the population as severe weather or natural disasters. The response to the public safety emergency must consider the restrictions imposed due to the pandemic, which poses new problems. Emergency managers are looking for solutions to help the population and not contribute to the spread of the coronavirus. Some security challenges are common to disasters, such as notification difficulties, and some are unique to a particular case. The current paper considers tornadoes, wildfires, and hurricanes and the challenges that accompany them amid COVID-19.
Tornadoes
Populations in some areas of the United States often face tornadoes and are well-trained in an action plan in such a situation. The primary reaction is to search for shelter, but a simultaneous stay of a group of people increases the risk of coronavirus transmission, which is a significant challenge to public safety (Quigley et al., 2020). For example, some shelters were closed in response to the pandemic during tornadoes in 2020, and in some regions, authorities housed people in hotels (Thompson, 2020). A significant part of the population considers a tornado a more severe threat, although fewer were inclined to use the shelter than in non-pandemic circumstances (Croskery et al., 2021). Therefore, increasing the number of covers and the population distribution is one of the critical difficulties during tornadoes and pandemics.
Another challenge is the restoration of infrastructures damaged after tornadoes. The restoration is slower due to the need to comply with pandemic restrictions (Thompson, 2020). Emergency service personnel must observe distancing recommendations during their work. Moreover, the problem is aggravated by another challenge associated with the simultaneous impact of a pandemic and catastrophe. The number of employees, like rescuers, firefighters, or medical personnel, may be insufficient due to illness, although demand for them increases in emergencies (Thompson, 2020). As a result, the response and elimination of the effects of tornadoes are significantly complicated due to the pandemic.
Wildfires
Wildfires often occur in extreme heat and suggest heavy smoke, which affects the population. One of the challenges during the additional impact of COVID-19 is to provide the public with a means of protection against viruses and smoke. It is crucial to consider that means against viruses, for instance, masks or cloth, cannot provide sufficient protection against smoke exposure but can inspire a false sense of security (Sohrabizadeh et al., 2021). Emergency services, therefore, need to inform the public of additional measures to protect against the influence of smoke and ensure air purification.
Another significant issue is preparedness for disaster, as the population needs to make supplies, which reduces the need to visit stores. However, coronavirus disease suggests an additional need for drugs, and other conditions may require medications that households cannot stockpile in advance (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2022). Therefore, emergency services must advise the population on making the necessary supplies during the pandemic. Finally, an additional challenge is an increased public health hazard under wildfire. Heat and smoke make individuals more vulnerable to the virus, and vice versa – the disease increases the adverse effects of smoke (CDC, 2022). Moreover, the symptoms of smoke poisoning and coronavirus share several features, which makes it difficult to determine the problem (CDC, 2022). As a result, the burden on emergency workers is simultaneously growing.
Hurricanes
Hurricanes are another dangerous situation, where the number of challenges has increased with the pandemic. This threat often involves the evacuation of the population, and emergency managers were forced to change routes, evacuation groups, and accommodation in shelters (American Meteorological Society, 2020). This challenge has a significant impact and entails another problem – notification and preparation of the population. Citizens used to a specific hurricane action plan should prepare for adaptations. They need to know in advance about all changes and monitor warnings about the approaching threat. This call involves additional measures to inform the population before the hurricane since, depending on the situation in the household, there may be no Internet, and phones may not work.
The elimination of the consequences of hurricanes can carry an additional challenge due to the spread of the virus. Responding to such disasters often involves volunteers coming to help people affected and bringing the community together to address the consequences (Thompson, 2020). However, individuals wishing to help are potential carriers of the virus, and the appearance of crowds contributes to its spread. As a result, the illness incidence and burden on the health care system are increasing. Emergency workers are forced to limit the help of volunteers, and for this reason, the amount of their work is growing, which slows down the elimination of consequences.
Conclusion
Thus, the global coronavirus pandemic has complicated the management of other threats to protect the population, such as tornadoes or wildfires. Due to the danger of the virus and the restrictions introduced to control it, new challenges appear to manage and eliminate the consequences of disasters. In particular, challenges accompany the organization of evacuation and shelters, informing the population with fewer available emergency services employees.
References
American Meteorological Society. (2020). Hurricane preparedness during the COVID-19 pandemic. Web.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). Wildfire smoke and COVID-19. Web.
Croskery, C. D., Sherman-Morris, K., & Brown, M. E. (2021). Learning from the CoViD-19 pandemic: When public health and tornado threats converge. Weather, climate, and society, 13(4), 963-973. Web.
Quigley, M. C., Attanayake, J., King, A., & Prideaux, F. (2020). A multi-hazards earth science perspective on the COVID-19 pandemic: The potential for concurrent and cascading crises. Environment Systems and Decisions, 40(2), 199-215. Web.
Sohrabizadeh, S., Yousefian, S., Bahramzadeh, A., & Vaziri, M. H. (2021). A systematic review of health sector responses to the coincidence of disasters and COVID-19. BMC Public Health, 21(1), 1-9. Web.
Thompson, A. (2020). What happens when other disasters hit during a pandemic? Scientific American. Web.