The Pipeline: A Minnesota Public Works Connection: Mother Nature Won’t Stay Home — Flood and Tornado Considerations During the Pandemic

Note: A city should always be reviewing emergency preparedness plans at least annually. The scope of this article is not to be a comprehensive discussion of emergency preparedness plans for tornadoes and floods, but rather to bring attention to how your existing preparedness plans may need to be modified while responding during the COVID-19 pandemic. Operating during the COVID-19 pandemic will present unique challenges and considerations that will have to be accommodated for.

It has not been “business as usual” for some time now and responding to emergencies such as floods and tornadoes during the COVID-19 pandemic will be anything but usual. Cities should be reassessing emergency preparedness plans to determine what alterations may be required under the current environment to effectively respond to floods and tornadoes.

Here are some items to consider:

Cities have been operating with skeleton crews and many employees are working off-site. Schedules and priorities have shifted. Will resources including chain saws, pole saws, generators, and mobile equipment be in good operating order? Cities should verify that:

Equipment kept in dry storage over the winter are operational and well maintained.
Fresh fuel is provided in mobile and portable equipment.
Fuel tanks for generators are topped off (take advantage of the record low fuel prices).
Chainsaw and pole saw blades have been sharpened, and spare blades available.

Has the city been maintaining emergency alert systems? Make sure to continue:

Providing public service announcements regarding municipal weather alerts
Testing alert systems on the first Wednesday of each month
Verifying the reliability of emergency alert equipment. Check that:

Branches are not obstructing sirens.
Sirens were not damaged over the winter.
Generators and battery backups for alert systems are operational.

Have you considered the impact on human resources available for responding to emergencies? Social distancing measures will need to be incorporated. For example, you may only be able to use one chute of a dual chute sandbagging machine or just the outside chutes of a quad sandbagging machine. Will you still be able to meet sandbagging capacities under these restrictions, or will additional devices be required? Some additional human resource items to consider doing in advance:

Verify if mutual aid agreements will still be honored during the pandemic.
Identify and provide alternates for key personnel who may not be available during the emergency response event due to illness.
Accommodate for the change in availability of volunteers which may be needed for sandbagging and other activities:

Determine how to accomplish social distancing with employees and volunteers for various response activities.
Identify potential areas of congregation during response.
Seek alternative methods such as using mechanical means where possible.
Have emergency inventory of face masks and gloves in stock for volunteers and employees.
Provide portable hand wash stations with soap or sanitizer dispensers at emergency sites.