Welcome back to Disaster Discourse Monthly!
Welcome back to Disaster Discourse Monthly. This month, we provide updates on the 2021 hurricane season along with summer preparedness tips; the COVID-19 pandemic and continued vaccination efforts; as well as the Colonial Pipeline cyberattack.
Another active Atlantic Hurricane Season…
Are you prepared? The Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1 and while this year likely will not surpass the record-breaking 2020 season that resulted in 30 named storms, scientists have indicated another above-average season is brewing. Current predictions forecast a total of six to ten hurricanes, with a potential for three to five storms reaching major Category 3 or higher. This is on the heels of heavy rains impacting a large portion of the United States (US) Gulf Coast throughout the month of May – in certain areas, as much as 18 inches of rain is predicted to have fallen.
Additionally, this year’s La Niña period has presented warmer, drier-than-normal conditions throughout the West and Southwest US, leading to severe drought, dry vegetation, and below-average snowpack. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) and the National Interagency Fire Center, four Southwest states experienced their driest April-to-March period in over a century – all pointing towards significant wildfire potential in the coming months.
This month, Hagerty’s Response Division provided emergency managers with considerations as they prepare for another potentially active summer disaster season. You can read the blog series here.
The COVID-19 pandemic and vaccine distribution…
The US has reported more than 33.2 million people have been infected with COVID-19. To date, over 62% of the US population has been partially or fully vaccinated. Currently, everyone 12 years or older in the US is eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, contingent on the manufacturer. Currently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that more than 292 million vaccines have been administered in the US and US territories and over 133 million people have been fully vaccinated. Curious how vaccine distribution is progressing where you live? Click here to find out.
In mid-May, the CDC released new guidance that fully vaccinated individuals do not need to wear masks in indoor spaces (unless required by public or private areas to do so) and can return to pre-pandemic activities.
The Colonial Pipeline cyberattack…
On May 7, a ransomware attack forced the Colonial Pipeline company to shut down operations impacting fuel distribution along the East Coast. The pipeline, which spans over 5,500 miles from Houston, Texas to New York Harbor, New York, is the largest refined products pipeline in the country and supplies 45% of the East Coast’s supply of diesel, petrol, and jet fuel. Colonial Pipeline reported that the ransomware attack impacted their corporate information technology (IT) networks, and the company chose to shut down pipeline operations as a precautionary measure. The cyberattack did not impact Colonial’s operational technology (OT) systems — systems that operators use to remotely control pipeline assets. To learn more about how this happened, and what is next, you can read our blogs, here and here.
Featured Grants:
Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) Program
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will provide $1 billion in in grant funding for the BRIC Program in Fiscal Year (FY) 21, a portion of which will be targeted to disadvantaged communities. The BRIC Program supports governments in undertaking pre-disaster hazard mitigation projects to reduce the risks they face from disasters and natural hazards. The Program seeks to shift the federal focus from reactive disaster spending toward research-supported, proactive investment in community resilience, and to reduce disaster suffering and avoid future disaster costs. Learn More:
- Source: Federal Emergency Management Agency
- Funding Opportunity Number: To be Determined (TBD)– NOFO will be released in the coming weeks.
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $1,000,000,000
- Award Ceiling: TBD
- Application Due Date: TBD
- Eligible Applicants: State and local governments, Native American tribal governments, and territories.
Telehealth Technology-Enabled Learning Program
The purpose of this program is to connect specialists at academic medical centers with primary care providers in rural and underserved populations to provide healthcare services via telehealth. Learn More:
- Source: Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration
- Funding Opportunity Number: HRSA-21-107
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $4,275,000
- Award Ceiling: $475,000
- Application Due Date: June 25, 2021
- Eligible Applicants: Domestic public or private, non-profit or for-profit entities with demonstrated and established experience in utilizing telehealth technologies to serve rural underserved populations. Faith-based, community-based organizations, and federally recognized tribes and tribal organizations are eligible to apply.
Rural Health Clinic Vaccine Confidence Program
This program provides funding for initiatives to improve vaccine confidence, counter vaccine hesitancy, and help with access to vaccination in rural communities that are medically underserved and/or experiencing low COVID-19 vaccination rates. This funding can be used for a broad range of efforts to improve healthcare in rural areas and reinforce basic messages about prevention and treatment of COVID-19. Learn More:
- Source: Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration
- Funding Opportunity Number: HRSA-21-142
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $100,000,000
- Award Ceiling: $200,000
- Application Due Date: (estimated) June 22, 2021
- Eligible Applicants: Medicare-Certified Rural Health Clinics and organizations that own or operate Medicare-Certified Rural Health Clinics.
Shared Personal Protective Equipment Resources for COVID-19 Related Vaccine and Treatment Clinical Trials and Clinical Studies (S10 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
This program was created to provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to organizations for safely carrying out clinical activities and directly interacting with patients participating in vaccine treatment clinical trials and clinical studies for COVID-19. Learn More:
- Source: Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health
- Funding Opportunity Number: PAR-20-256
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $25,000,000
- Award Ceiling: N/A
- Application Due Date: July 7, 2021
- Eligible Applicants: City, township, county, or state governments; private institutions of higher learning; independent school districts; Native American tribal governments; non-profits; for-profit organizations, including small businesses; and public institutions of higher education.
Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE): Higher Education Under the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF)
This program was established to defray expenses associated with COVID-19, (including lost revenue, reimbursement for expenses incurred, technology costs incurred due to distance education or staff trainings), or to provide financial aid grants to students which may be used for any component of the student’s cost of attendance or for emergency costs that arose due to COVID-19 such as tuition, food, housing, healthcare, or childcare. Learn More:
- Source: Department of Education
- Funding Opportunity Number: ED-GRANTS-051321-001
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $39,600,000,000
- Award Ceiling: N/A
- Application Due Date: August 11, 2021
- Eligible Applicants: Public, state, and private institutions of higher education. (Note: this Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (EERF) funding opportunity is an allocation-based grant. Applicants with available allocations still need to apply for funding opportunity).