May 14, 2021 - Chester, PA
The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) and several local leaders discussed how flexible disaster emergency declarations allow emergency officials to meet the needs of communities before, during and after an emergency."Despite the COVID-19 pandemic being the first example of a disaster declaration being used in regard to an infectious disease outbreak, many have come to view emergency response through that lens," PEMA Director Randy Padfield said. "Drastically changing a process that has worked exceptionally well for all other disasters that we've experienced in the past, such as flooding that occurs quite frequently, is extremely short-sighted. The citizens of Pennsylvania deserve something better than a knee-jerk reaction that will only serve to adversely impact the state's ability to respond to emergency situations in a timely and efficient manner."
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