FEMA releases COVID-19 Pandemic Operational Guidance for the 2020 Hurricane Season

Key Takeaways

On May 20, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) released the COVID-19 Pandemic Operational Guidance for the 2020 Hurricane Season, to help state, local, tribal and territorial emergency managers and public health officials best prepare for disasters, while continuing to respond to and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the 2020 hurricane season fast approaching, FEMA is working to ensure that emergency managers and county officials are able to navigate the added complexities of conducting response and recovery operations while taking preventative measures to protect the health and safety of our residents. The guidance provides checklists and other resources that will enable emergency managers to best adapt their response and recovery plans and outlines anticipated challenges to disaster operations posed by COVID-19.

Although the guidance focuses on hurricane season preparedness, most planning considerations and principles can be applied to other disasters including flooding, wildfires and other no-notice incidents.

To expand awareness and understanding of the guidance, FEMA’s National Preparedness Directorate will be conducting four webinars. These will allow emergency managers and local officials an opportunity to discuss how the guidance can assist jurisdictions in modifying their response plans given the current constraints of the ongoing pandemic. Dates and times for the webinars can be found by clicking here. 

NACo will continue to monitor federal guidelines, provide information and support counties during the COVID-19 public health emergency on our online resource page.