Shelters (Evacuation and Emergency)

Shelters provide a safe place for individuals affected by emergency events to reside. These shelters can provide a variety of services such as food, sleeping quarters, sanitation facilities, and medical care. Environmental health practitioners perform many critical functions in shelters; examples include conducting shelter assessments, testing drinking water supplies, conducting food safety inspections, and evaluating general safety and sanitation.

CDC Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response – how to prepare, and plan for shelter safety after disasters:

• CDC Shelter Assessment Tool – Environmental Health Shelter Assessment Tool assists environmental health practitioners in conducting a rapid assessment of shelter conditions during emergencies and disasters
• Chemical Agents: Facts About Sheltering in Place – precautions about sheltering in place after a chemical incident
• Disaster Information for Pet Shelters – guidelines for animal health & control of disease transmission in pet shelters and other information about pet shelters
• Infection Control Guidance for Community Evacuation Centers Following Disasters – recommendations for basic infection control guidance to prevent exposure to or transmission of infectious diseases in temporary community evacuation centers
• Learn How to Shelter in Place – information about how to know when to shelter-in-place
• Sheltering in Place During a Radiation Emergency – precautions to help reduce exposure to radiation

Environmental Health Training in Emergency Response – training addresses information on shelters and many environmental health topics commonly faced in response to emergency events

Internet-Based Morbidity and Mortality Surveillance Among Hurricane Katrina Evacuees in Georgia – use and analysis of data from Internet-based surveillance forms for evacuation shelters and an Internet-based death registry in Georgia’s public health response to Hurricane Katrina

Public Health Surveillance During a Disaster – information to assess the human health impacts of a disaster and evaluate potential problems such as disease outbreaks

MMWR – Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports

Hurricane Katrina Response and Guidance for Health-Care Providers, Relief Workers, and Shelter Operators. MMWR – guidelines for Hurricane Katrina response

Norovirus Outbreak Among Evacuees from Hurricane Katrina—Houston, Texas, September 2005. MMWR – preliminary epidemiologic data from norovirus outbreak investigation

Surveillance in Hurricane Evacuation Centers – Louisiana, September–October 2005. MMWR – development and implementation of a surveillance system in evacuation centers, types of data collected and how they were used, and limitations of the data

Tuberculosis Transmission in a Homeless Shelter Population—New York, 2000–2003. MMWR – investigation of tuberculosis transmission among residents of a homeless shelter for men

Widespread Outbreak of Norovirus Gastroenteritis Among Evacuees of Hurricane Katrina Residing in a Large “megashelter” in Houston, Texas: Lessons Learned for Prevention [PDF – 515 KB] – investigation underscoring the difficulties in managing such outbreaks of norovirus gastroenteritis in crowded settings and the need for rapid, sensitive laboratory assays to detect norovirus

Links to information from outside CDC

A Guide for Local Jurisdictions In Care and Shelter Planning [PDF – 431 KB] (Alameda County Operational Area Emergency Management Organization) – planning information and guidelines relevant for local government consideration before opening disaster shelters

American Red Cross Disaster Services Update (American Red Cross) – the ARC provides up-to-date information on disaster awareness, preparedness, training, planning, response, and recovery

• Recovering after a Disaster or Emergency

Disaster Field Manual for Environmental Health Specialists (California Conference of Directors of Environmental Health) – field guide to help environmental health professionals respond to various major disasters

Emergency Response for People Who Have Access and Functional Needs: A Guide For First Responders (Center for Public Safety Innovation) – guidance for emergency responders in assisting people who have access and functional needs during an emergency situation

Environmental Health in Emergencies and Disasters: A Practical Guide

• Chapter 6 – Shelter and Emergency Settlements [PDF – 333 KB]

Infection Prevention and Control for Shelters During Disasters [PDF – 1.7 MB] (Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc.) – planning recommendations/guidance that can be used for preparedness and response to potential emergencies involving infection control issues in shelters

National Disaster Housing Strategy [PDF – 2.9 MB] (Federal Emergency Management Agency) – information on disaster recovery including sheltering and housing resources

Public Health Guidance Documents for Evacuation Shelters [PDF – 76 KB] (Dallas County Health and Human Services) – environmental health shelter recommendations, including prevention of and response to gastrointestinal disease outbreaks and respiratory disease outbreaks and an environmental health evacuation shelter assessment form

Shelter Field Guide: FEMA P-785 [PDF – 2.34 MB] (Federal Emergency Management Agency) – guide to give organizations a basic overview of shelter operations for opening, operating, and managing an emergency shelter

Shelter Health: Essentials for Care of People Living in Shelter (National Health Care for the Homeless Council) – guides to help shelter providers and public health respond more effectively to the health needs of residents

• Shelter Health: Essentials of Care for People Living in Shelter (2006) [PDF – 1.7 MB]
• Pandemic Influenza Guidance for Homeless Shelters & Homeless Service Providers (2009) [PDF – 1 MB]
• The Health Care of Homeless Persons: A Manual of Communicable Diseases & Common Problems in Shelters & on the Streets (2004)

Shelter Operations Management Toolkit [PDF – 359 KB] (American Red Cross) – toolkit provides Shelter Managers with the resources to plan for, open, operate, and close shelters.

South Central Public Health Partnership – trains professionals to protect the public

• Environmental Health and Shelters [PDF – 117 KB] – course to teach environmental health specialists about how to deal with environmental health issues in mass shelters
• Environmental Health Issues in Disasters – course that takes a closer look at the fundamentals of environmental health through the lens of a disaster situation

The Twin Cities Metro Advanced Practice Center – tools and resources for preparedness that can be used by public health departments nationwide, including

• Environmental Health Emergency Response Guide, Chapter 5: Mass Care [PDF – 658 KB] – provides quick access to needed information before an incident strikes a community

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