Emergency Government Coordinator: This emergency is unlike any past emergency

Winneshiek County Emergency Management Coordinator Sean Snyder was hired five years ago. During that time, he's dealt with six federal emergency declarations. The first five involved flooding.

"You can see the water" when it floods, Snyder told a group of Decorah Area Chamber of Commerce members recently.  "We can do what we need to do to combat (flooding)," he said.  He also pointed out that floods are localized, which means that even when many communities are fighting flooding problems, they can get resources from other nearby communities which were not flooded.

By contrast, there is now a worldwide shortage of personal protective equipment for the coronavirus epidemic, Snyder pointed out.  Winneshiek County gets supplies every three days or so, delivered by National Guard members, but that's just "a box or two," Snyder said, and nowhere near the amount requested.

"This is unique," Snyder says of the coronavirus outbreak.