COVID-19, wildfires, Laura create ‘challenge’ at MS Coast shelters as Sally looms
On Monday afternoon, the American Red Cross was so short on disaster volunteers to work at Coast hurricane shelters for Hurricane Sally that one Red Cross coordinator was preparing to “put a second hat on” and staff one of the shelters himself, he said on a disaster response call with Harrison County officials.
Perhaps no aspect of the typical hurricane plan has been altered more than the evacuation shelters.
For months, state and local officials have encouraged people to consider shelters a very last resort due to the coronavirus pandemic. Shelter capacities have been cut significantly. State employees staffing the shelter at County Farm said it typically could house around 300 people; that figure has been reduced to about 100.
After the near miss of Hurricane Laura, Hurricane Sally is the first time the pandemic safety protocols could be seriously tested on the Coast.
Harrison County has opened three shelters, Jackson County has two, and Hancock County has one.
The shelters are operated by the American Red Cross, with support from the Mississippi Department of Human Services. The Red Cross typically provides a cadre of trained volunteers, in addition to “extra amenities” like snacks and beverages, said Rupert Lacy, emergency management director for Harrison County.
Staffing ‘challenge’ at Coast emergency shelters
Earlier in the summer, John McFarland, executive director of Red Cross Southeast Mississippi Chapter, described shelter staffing as “the biggest challenge we have.” Red Cross disaster volunteers tend to skew older, because retirees have the flexible schedules needed to work on disaster relief. Older people are more likely to suffer serious consequences from COVID-19.
On Monday, McFarland said he estimated that up to 25% of Red Cross disaster volunteers had opted to work virtually, but that he didn’t expect staffing to be a problem.
“We have been assigning teams since last Friday,” he said. “You can’t wait ‘til it hits.”
On the Harrison County’s emergency response team call on Monday evening, Rebecca Schroeder, director of human services for the county, said that state employees staffing the county’s three open shelters were still waiting for the Red Cross.
“We do have seven people at each one,” she said. “That should be almost adequate coverage for each of them. We just need at least one person there from the Red Cross so that we can continue to assist.”
Schroeder also said the department had had trouble initially locating personal protective equipment to provide to evacuees and thermometers to conduct temperature screenings, but had gotten that squared away by early evening.
Earlier Monday, the Sun Herald visited two shelters, County Farm and Lobouy Road. Both were staffed by Department of Human Services employees, but no one from the Red Cross was there. The lack of Red Cross presence didn’t seem to present a problem as of mid-afternoon: there was only one evacuee at the Lobouy Road shelter, and no one at County Farm.
During the team call on Monday evening, Coast Transit Authority executive director Kevin Coggin said his agency had not helped many people get to the shelters.
“There’s not a whole lot of takers,” Coggin said. “We’ve carried about 20 so far.”
Is COVID-19 causing last-minute evacuation decisions?
It’s not clear whether that’s because people have heeded officials’ warnings to evacuate early and stay with friends and family, or because they have delayed evacuating and could start arriving at shelters tomorrow.
Coggin said his agency had received phone calls from people who “were looking out the window” and unconcerned about the weather.
The Coast Transit Authority offered rides to shelters from 2 to 6 p.m. on Monday. It won’t offer transportation tomorrow, because wind and rain conditions are expected to be severe. Instead, people can contact the emergency management agency for help getting to a shelter.
Lacy said it was possible that the coronavirus was leading people to calculate that staying home is their safest option, unless the conditions are drastic.
“We’re dealing with COVID,” he said. “They may choose to wait longer.”
The Department of Human Services employees had been instructed to prepare to stay at the shelter through Thursday, so they had packed bags with clothes and personal hygiene items. They were prepared for the possibility of spending the night together with no evacuees: the shelters will be open all night, even if no one shows up.
At Lobouy, several employees had set up their air mattresses, clustered in a corner.
Harrison County Sheriff’s deputies had also been deployed to each shelter. Deputy Nate Fairley arrived for his shift at County Farm at 3 p.m. and will stay until 11 p.m. His job is to make sure everyone stays safe and follows the regulations, such as wearing a mask at all times.
“I’ll pretty much keep the peace, make sure everyone is taken care of, and treated fairly,” he said.
Lacy said Harrison County’s shelters are adequately staffed, and county officials had known the Red Cross would be unusually strained for Hurricane Sally.
“Hurricane Laura didn’t help the situation, and the fires in California didn’t help the situation,” he said.
This story was originally published September 14, 2020 at 6:54 PM.
