Scott McPherson's Web Presence

Nature can be a real you-know-what.  And what I have always preached during pandemic preparedness is the extreme need to watch out for Nature "piling on" during a pandemic, regardless of the pathogen.

This could not be more forcefully brought home than with the events of last night in the Nashville, Tennessee area. A tremendous disaster in the form of tornadic activity killed, at a minimum, nineteen people, destroyed (as of press time) forty buildings, and has also wrought untold human suffering in the region.

For a moment, transpose the city with Kirkland, Washington, where a quarter of the fire department is in quarantine.  Now imagine the tornadoes striking there now, as the city of 90,000 struggles to come to grips with a cluster (if not an outright outbreak) of coronavirus.  

Now switch the scenario back to Nashville, but now imagine the tornadoes have hit during the height of a hypothetical COVID-19 pandemic.  Surrounding communities struggle to send workers, because they need them too, but also because the workers themselves are fearful of venturing out in the midst of illness and suffering. First responders to help rescue trapped citizens.  Firefighters to quench blazes and help turn off gas mains.  Law enforcement to curtail the looting.  Linemen to restore electrical connectivity.  Communications workers to restore the Internet and land lines.  Imagine the degree of difficulty in getting those assets to the epicenter of the destruction.  Fortunately, there will be those who will rise to the call, who will ignore the danger, who want to help their fellow man and woman. But they will be few and far between, or kept from going by their supervisors who have been ordered to keep those assets at home. 

One of the most important discussions right now is if this coronavirus rises to the leval of a pandemic, what will be the fate of these mutual aid agreements?  What can peers in surrounding areas do to help their bretheren?  These discussions need to take place now, so that everyone has an understanding of what to expect when Nature piles on during a pandemic.