Disasters strike when least expected, and when they happen, communities should be readily prepared to respond appropriately. Disaster preparedness involves predicting, preventing (where possible), mitigating their impact on the affected populations, responding, and coping with the consequences of catastrophes. In other words, authorities and other stakeholders should have elaborate measures in place to prepare for disasters and reduce their effects. Therefore, in a bid to plan comprehensively, various models of disaster management are applied depending on the underlying circumstances. The objective of disaster management is to design a realistic and executable coordinated planning that minimizes duplication of functions and optimizes the overall effectiveness in response to catastrophes.
The National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF) by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is the generally accepted model used to guide recovery efforts by supporting the affected states, communities, territories, and local jurisdictions. The NDRF has six recovery support systems focusing on community planning and capacity building (CPCB), the economy, health and social services, housing, infrastructure, and natural and cultural resources. FEMA uses the Incident Control System (ICS), which is “management system designed to enable effective and efficient domestic incident management by integrating a combination of facilities, equipment, personnel, procedures, and communications operating within a common organizational structure” (FEMA, 2018, para. 2). The ICS is designed to facilitate planning, intelligence and investigations, operations, logistics, command, and finance and administration. Therefore, by the time a disaster strikes, the involved parties are adequately prepared and equipped to minimize the impacts on communities. This paper is an assessment of disaster preparedness in Nassau County, New York. It also discusses the county’s preparedness to respond to COVID-19.
Nassau County’s Disaster Preparedness
The Office of Emergency Management (OEM) is tasked with disaster preparedness in Nassau County. This department has 20 full-time civil servants working in various areas of expertise, such as planning, operations, training, human resources, logistics, and finance, among other related fields, but it does not have section chiefs. The OEM seeks to support emergency response plans that have already been established by various authorities including Homeland Security, State Police, and the Fire Department. Therefore, OEM’s work is to support the various agencies involved in disaster preparedness. The OEM has an Operations Center where all county decision-makers, including the town’s Homeland Security, police, fire, MTA, PSEG (electric company), TSA, Department of Health, and the local cable, among other stakeholders, meet for planning whether for marathons, fire incidents, the collapse of buildings, or a hurricane.
Therefore, when a disaster occurs, all the involved stakeholders converge at the Operations Center to initiate the response protocols and make urgent and critical decisions on the best way to contain the incident and minimize its impacts on the affected populations. Nassau County has a Citizens Alert system, which is used to communicate to all residents by sending a warning about impending disaster coupled with advising people on what to do under such circumstances. The system uses various channels of communication, including social media and mobile phones. However, planning for disaster response involves different aspects to ensure that the community is fully equipped on how to handle various occurrences.
As such, the OEM works in partnership with other agencies to create awareness in the communities. For instance, the Citizen Corp Council-Nassau is involved in training, education, and volunteering to ensure that every individual is prepared to respond to crime, public health issues, terrorism and other disasters. The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) provides on-going education to individuals and communities in the region on the best ways to respond during crises. CERT members support first-line responders when a disaster occurs. Similarly, the Contingency Planning Exchange, Inc. (CPE), which is a professional association, keeps the community informed about emerging disaster management techniques through various educational programs.
The Medical Reserve Corps, an elaborate network of volunteers, “Works to improve the overall health and well-being of their communities by engaging in appropriate public health initiatives throughout the year” (Long Island, 2020, para. 6). The Pet Safe Program ensures that animals are secured during disasters by preparing owners through education, while the Police Information Network increases public awareness and safety by releasing critical and timely information. Additionally, other agencies, such as the Red Cross, are involved in the collaborative efforts to ensure that people are sufficiently prepared to respond to disasters and minimize the impacts should any catastrophe occur. Therefore, Nassau County has established the needed systems for disaster preparedness, but some areas could be improved as discussed in the next section.
Nassau County Preparedness for COVID-19
The county’s response to the novel COVID-19 is in tandem with guidelines issued by the State of New York. While frontline responders, especially the medical teams, are working hard to ensure extensive testing and appropriately caring for the affected, the County has rolled out several initiatives to support locals and minimize the impacts of the outbreak. One of the strengths of the current system is effective communication. The first step has been the widespread creation of awareness about the disease, how it spreads, and how it can be prevented. With the help of Senator Anna. M. Kaplan, the County has created the Nassau Coronavirus Update, which is a daily newsletter providing important information and resources that are available to the locals (Kaplan, 2020). In addition, the Nassau County Health Department has established a hotline to ensure constant communication with various stakeholders, such as schools, care workers, and providers, together with delivering important information. Another strong point is the concerted collaboration with other agencies and stakeholders. Schools have been closed in accordance with Governor Cuomo’s executive order.
Additionally, the county is also working closely with members of the society to ensure that stores do not hike prices, and such incidences should be reported through [email protected]. (Long Beach Island, 2020). The authorities have also partnered with Island Harvest, which runs various food banks around the county in a bid to support locals who have been adversely affected by the outbreak. Similarly, the county’s Veterans Services Agency continues to offer critical services to the relevant individuals as a way of mitigating the effects of the disease. For instance, Nassau County’s Vet Mart provides food to deserving veterans, and in case, one is not in a position to get to the center, volunteers deliver the items at the doorstep. The Nassau County Executive, Laura Curran, has created a Coronavirus Economic Advisory Council to evaluate the countywide impact of the outbreak on businesses (NYSCA, 2020). These actions are consistent with FEMA’s Incident Command System (ICS).
However, one of the areas that need improvement is the issue of contact tracing. According to CDC (2020), in contact tracing, “public health staff work with a patient to help them recall everyone with whom they have had close contact during the timeframe while they may have been infectious” (para. 4). However, in Nassau County, this issue is not executed comprehensively, hence the need for improvement. However, the county is set to benefit from the initiative by former New York City Mayor, Mike Bloomberg, which seeks to form an “a tracing army” of volunteers tasked with tracing individuals that have interacted with people who test positive for the disease (Failla, 2020). Volunteers that will be involved in the contact tracing exercise could benefit from FEMA courses on disaster assistance, the CDC’s COVID -19 contact tracing training, and other resources available online, such as the COVID-19 contact tracing resources.
As a counselor, educator, and a leader in my community, I could play a central role before, during, and after disaster response. Before a disaster happens, I could educate those around me on how to be prepared to respond effectively if a catastrophe occurs. During the disaster, I would continue creating awareness by advising people on the best way to respond. After the crisis, I would counsel those affected and help them resume their normal lives using the knowledge that I have gained through my learning.
Conclusion
Nassau County has responded to the COVID-19 remarkably by rolling out various initiatives in line with its OEM protocols. The county is working closely with other stakeholders to ensure that all the necessary measures are put in place to combat the pandemic. Communication has been effective to sensitize the communities about the disease and how it could be prevented. However, the issue of contact tracing should be improved, but plans are underway to recruit volunteers to facilitate the exercise. Overall, Nassau County has responded appropriately to the COVID-19 pandemic.
References
CDC. (2020). Contact tracing: Part of a multipronged approach to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Web.
Failla, Z. (2020). COVID-19: Building’ tracing army’ Of thousands will be new phase of pandemic response. Daily Voice. Web.
FEMA. (2018). Incident command system resources. .
Kaplan, A. M. (2020). Coronavirus (Covid-19) community resources. The New York State Senate. Web.
Long Beach Island. (2020). COVID-19 coronavirus update. Web.
Long Island. (2020). Emergency preparedness.
NYSCA. (2020). COVID-19 Blog: Counties Innovating in Response to COVID-19. Web.