Pandemics differ from natural disasters because they can affect all regions simultaneously and deplete resources like drugs and ventilators.

“you know we plan for catastrophes but we typically plan for a hurricane or an earthquake or a tsunami one region and then we get into recovery right away not that it's not devastating but you know FEMA can't be in all 50 states at once and do the magnificent job that we're seeing in New York and frankly many of us fear that you don't want to be on the tail end of this outbreak where you are one of the latter cities to break because by that time a lot of the resources are going to be used”