Understanding Natural Disasters and COVID-19 in Disadvantaged and Overburdened Communities
The ask: The Environmental Justice and Natural Disasters Committee of the White House Environmental Justice Interagency Council (formerly the Federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice) wanted to address natural disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation, as well as associated COVID-19 implications, in underserved communities.
The solution: Since 2019, MDB has provided the Committee with both technical and logistical support. MDB provides meeting logistics support for the Committee’s monthly meetings, which includes providing recommendations for agenda items, setting up the meetings on Zoom, inviting Committee members, and notetaking. In order to gather input from the stakeholders from across the nation, MDB facilitated, coordinated and provided support for meeting logistics for three virtual Town Hall Meetings in three regions (Southeast and Caribbean Basin; Gulf Coast; and West, Southwest, Rocky Mountains, and Plains) and three virtual natural disaster preparedness and response trainings. The town hall meetings drew about 500 participants from communities; academia; worker organizations; nonprofit organizations; and federal, state, local, and tribal governments. The meeting format invited participants to share their thoughts on and experiences with environmental justice as it relates to natural disasters and COVID-19.
Notable outcomes: Drawing on discussions during the town hall meetings, MDB prepared a draft report for the Committee that describes pressing environmental justice concerns as they relate to natural disasters and COVID-19. and defines the best approaches to properly address EJ concerns in underserved communities during natural disaster preparedness, response, and recovery and impacts of COVID-19, with key findings and recommendations for future improvements in addressing EJ issues by the Federal government.
