MAINE, USA — Every time Maine is hit with a major storm, whether it's snow, or a major rain and wind event, county Emergency Management Agencies work around the clock to create a plan, respond and disperse information, even during a worldwide pandemic.
"We're looking for ponding in roads, we're warning the public. We're also warning people about the potential for power outages with the ground being soft," said Darren Woods, the director of the Aroostook County EMA.
During Monday's rain and wind storm, and Thursday's snowstorm, it means all hands on deck for county EMAs.
"In some senses, we're working closer than we normally would," said Art Cleaves, the director of York County EMA.
Despite offices being 330 miles away, they're approaching their response similarly, even though they're facing different storm impacts. One major they're facing in the era of social distancing, however, is that they're working remotely.
"We've been preparing for this for a while, and it is difficult to manage the coordination to make sure people maintain that social distancing that we should be maintaining," said Cleaves.
Both York and Aroostook County EMAs, along with the other 14 counties agencies, work to coordinate a response to COVID-19 in their own area. They're facilitating communication with the Maine CDC and MEMA, and assuring their partners have things like enough personal protective equipment.
"Every day we're in touch with all 29 towns to make sure they have the proper PPE," said Cleaves. York County has been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus, being the county in Maine with second-most cases. Aroostook County on the other hand, has just two cases.
"We are in the low number of case period and we're using that to our advantage to plan and prepare," said Woods.
Despite the difference in cases, work is still being done to help prepare communities across the state. And at the same time, responding to a storm that's left thousands without power.
"Everybody is doing the right things, and preparing correctly, and they're getting themselves as ready as they can," said Woods.
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At NEWS CENTER Maine, we’re focusing our news coverage on the facts and not the fear around the illness. To see our full coverage, visit our coronavirus section, here: www.newscentermaine.com/coronavirus.