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Emergency evacuation procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic

Historic occupancy rates of congregate shelters may not provide appropriate physical distancing.
Signs similar to this one from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare may remind evacuees to avoid risky behavior if posted at evacuation check-in areas or shared use facilities.

The COVID-19 pandemic coincided with record-breaking wildfires in the western United States and a record number of hurricane landfalls in the southeastern United States. Emergency evacuation may be required for people living in areas threatened by natural disasters. Historic procedures maximizing capacity of public transport and emergency shelters may be inconsistent with quarantine and physical distancing measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is not advisable to set up congregate shelters in an environment heavily impacted by a pandemic. Non-congregate shelters typically provide more effective physical distancing. Examples include buildings with single room occupancy, hotels or dormitories with private sleeping spaces but possibly shared bathroom or cooking facilities.[1] Thousands of evacuees from Hurricane Laura were still in emergency lodgings as Hurricane Delta approached the Louisiana coast. Six-thousand from southwest Louisiana were in twelve New Orleans area hotels.[2] Three-thousand-five-hundred remained in shelters as Hurricane Zeta approached Louisiana.[3] A volcanic eruption on the island of Saint Vincent in April 2021 caused evacuation of sixteen-thousand people. Four-thousand evacuees were placed in eighty-nine government shelters after being tested for COVID-19, with those testing positive taken to isolation centers.[4] Six-thousand evacuees found shelter in private homes.[5]

  1. ^ "Mass Care/Emergency Assistance Pandemic Planning Considerations" (PDF). Federal Emergency Management Agency. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  2. ^ Brackett, Ron; Childs, Jan Wesner. "Hurricane Delta Drives Louisianans From Their Homes Yet Again". The Weather Channel. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  3. ^ Pederson, Joe Mario. "Tropical Storm Zeta moves into Gulf of Mexico, forecast to regain hurricane strength". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  4. ^ Deane, Kristin; Coto, Danica (12 April 2021). "Huge explosion rocks St. Vincent as volcano keeps erupting". Associated Press. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  5. ^ "St. Vincent fears COVID-19 outbreak as positive cases climb after volcano eruption". Fox News. 15 April 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2021.