Hurricane Season Plus Coronavirus Equals Trouble

Hurricane season is here, and has already started out strong, as scientists are predicting that 2020 could see a higher-than-average number of major hurricanes.  This is never great news, but this year, thanks to the coronavirus situation, it could be worse than usual.

Impact of COVID-19 on Hurricane Season

Hurricane season on the East Coast runs from June 1 to November 30.  The main impact of the virus is that it would force hurricane response efforts to be different.  Relief shelters would likely need to reduce the number of available beds to promote social distancing, the number of critical employees and first responders could be reduced due to illness, and the potential for food shortages would be amplified. Utility mutual assistance will follow new guidelines.

Officials in many coastal areas are taking this threat very seriously.  For example, a COVID-19 task force has been formed in Virginia Beach, VA, in coordination with Norfolk, VA and Chesapeake, VA, on how the virus could impact temporary shelters in a storm event. 

Most shelters in the Virginia Beach area are typically setup in school cafeterias and gyms, but with social distancing protocols in place, there simply is not enough space.  And this is just one of many issues that the Virginia Beach task force – as well as hundreds of municipal officials up and down the east coast – are grappling with.

For these reasons, now would be a perfect time to review your emergency plans and protocols to make sure they are appropriate for this kind of ‘double-whammy’ scenario.  In addition, now would be a good time to double-down on training, exercises and drills to ensure that storm workers are as well-versed in their roles as possible. 

There’s no doubt about it, hurricane season does not mix well with a pandemic, but the negative impact can be reduced or even minimized through careful emergency planning.