Welcome back to Disaster Discourse Monthly!
Welcome back to Disaster Discourse Monthly. As we enter the second month of the year, we offer updates regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and the plans of the new Administration under President Biden to combat COVID-19, including vaccine distribution and assistance to individuals and households. We are also tracking the weather system that triggered a debris flow which resulted in California’s Highway 1 collapse last week, and how it developed into the nor’easter impacting much of the East Coast this week.
The COVID-19 Pandemic…
The United States (US) has reported that over 26.2 million people have been infected with COVID-19 while globally over 2,232,000 have died from the virus. On January 24, 2020, Hagerty wrote our first COVID-19 Situation Status (SitStat) Blog post titled, “Novel Coronavirus Spreads throughout Asia and is Confirmed in the US.” At the time, there were only two confirmed cases of COVID-19 throughout the US and little was known about COVID-19s impact on the human body. To read about the way COVID-19 has impacted the US in the past year and Hagerty’s role in COVID-19 readiness, response, and recovery at the link.
President Biden releases a plan to combat COVID-19…
On January 21, 2021, President Joe Biden released the National Strategy for the COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness, a 200-page plan outlining seven goals to make the country more resilient to COVID-19. This National Strategy “provides a roadmap to guide America out of the worst public health crisis in a century” and “outlines an actionable plan across the federal government to address the COVID-19 pandemic, including 12 initial executive actions issued by President Biden on his first two days in office.”
Vaccine distribution continues…
Vaccine distribution (a key area of focus within the National Strategy) continues across the US after becoming available in December of 2020. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has reported that over 26.2 vaccines have been distributed in the US and US territories. To ensure the most effective and efficient transition to a pre-2020 state, individuals must consider maintaining public health measures after receiving the vaccination. The New York Times offers the following resources to track the portion of the population vaccinated in your state, via this link.
Emergency rental assistance made available…
The budget deal, passed by Congress in late December, included a $25 billion Emergency Rental Assistance Program to aid households that are unable to pay rent or utilities due to the ongoing impacts of COVID-19. This is a “use it or lose it” program with outstanding funds being reallocated to other recipients starting in September 2021. The U.S. Department of Treasury has implemented strict eligibility, documentation, and compliance requirements that must be adhered to. Extensive community outreach, engagement, and experienced implementation will be critical to success. Learn more about the program here.
California’s Highway 1 collapsed into the ocean and the East Coast feels the impacts of a historic nor’easter…
On Friday, January 28, the California Department of Transportation reported that a section of California Highway 1 had fallen into the ocean. The infrastructure collapse occurred about 15 miles south of Big Sur. According to reports, the collapse was caused due to heavy rainfall and debris that created a landslide. Governor Newsom has issued an emergency proclamation for Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties due to “winter storms that have threatened to cause mud and debris flows, forced the evacuation of thousands of residents and damaged critical infrastructure, including washing out a portion of Highway 1.” The same storm system that caused this destruction is now a nor’easter walloping the East Coast – dumping record amounts of snow and impacting over 110 million people.
Upcoming events…
We invite you to attend a webinar on Thursday, February 18th entitled, COVID-19 Cost Recovery: Ways to Maximize Federal Funding for Response, Recovery & Vaccination, hosted by the International City and County Managers Association.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic response, Hagerty has helped more than 25 state and local governments, as well as over 100 hospitals and healthcare systems, manage billions of dollars in CARES Act, FEMA, HHS, and other federal funding. During this webinar, Hagerty executives will share insights on how to best navigate ongoing reimbursement and recovery challenges your community or organization may be facing.
You do not need an ICMA membership to attend; to register, click here.