Engaging the emergency preparedness community in climate change

[Michael Heumann]

From the recent Climate Gap Webinar, it seems to me that there may be multiple benefits from engaging our partners who work in public health emergency preparedness planning and response. Planning for emergencies has recently broadened from "terrorism" to an "all-hazards" approach. This new approach is ideally based upon a public health hazard vulnerability assessment (PH-HVA) which asks local health officials to identify and prioritize the hazards and threats that face their communities. When we did this in Oregon, our local partners identified a wide range of issues, but among the highest ranked concerns had to do with weather (and potentially climate) related disasters and threats. In our state, these range from severe storms, flooding, wild fires, heat waves, drought to pandemic disease and conditions such as West Nile Virus. In other states, hurricanes, tornados and other weather/climate issues will be top on the list.

I believe that this is an opportunity to build relationships with those who are planning to respond to, prevent or mitigate and recovery from these disasters that face our communities. In addition to bringing expertise in the area of prevention, planning, mitigation and recovery, they also have funding to develop plans, exercise the plans, mobilize communities and build linkages with other agencies and resources on the local, state and national levels.

[Marisel Brown]

Excellent point. We need to do a bit of siloh busting in public health when it comes to working with disaster personnel. In California, the primary manifestation of climate conditions is fire; however, our state's response to wildfires is considered the gold standard for the response to that hazard. Of greater concern to local officials & the public is the next Loma Prieta + magnitude earthquake. Framing a healthy community as one that is able to prepare for, respond to, mitigage, and recover from a magnitude 6+ earthquake may be a way for community health improvement advocates to engage/build relationships with local entitities responsible for disaster planning in California. It would be a roundabout approach, but we may need to respond to perceived needs/priorities first to build trust/rapport.

[Michael Heumann]

I completely agree, that building trust and a working relationship with our partners (both inside public health and elsewhere) is paramount. There is a saying in the emergency preparedness community, "If you are exchanging business cards with someone during an emergency response situation, it is way too late."

The threat of fire may certainly be weather and climate related. It is less certain or clear that earthquakes and tsunamis can be linked to climate.

[Marisel Brown]

I was putting in a plug of sorts for addressing what others see as priorities before we present our agenda. The density of some of California's communities that sit on or near faults means the loss of life in a 6+ quake could be significant, particulalry in our low-income communities. In California it is not a matter of if there will be a BIG ONE, it is a matter of when. That weighs heavily on the minds of disaster preparedness planners, responders, & support organizations that will be called upon in the event of a big quake. Ignore climate change....no. But local circumstances may trump initiating a productive conversation between community health improvement advocates & the disaster contingent re: climate change. We are on the same page re: engagement.

[Michael Heumann]

I agree with you that disasters, no matter what the origin (e.g. climate-related or geo-physical) will impact populations disproportionately, And it is critical to engage emergency response planners on the issues of disparities early and often. We in Oregon also share the threat from massive earthquakes and tsunamis as a matter of course. I do believe that it is imperative that we plan and exercise and reach out to vulnerable communities around the threats that are identified as the highest priority--as identified in the hazard vulnerability assessment process.