EDITOR'S NOTE

Welcome to Disaster Recovery Today. This newsletter is designed to help governmental and not-for-profit organizations stay current with rapidly changing FEMA policies and regulations governing the Public Assistance Program; and to help manage the response following a disaster.

This issue is the first in a series which will present guidelines for proactively and effectively managing federal disaster grants by outlining nine key steps to a successful recovery. This first article begins with the cornerstone of disaster management — disaster planning. Subsequent issues will detail the eight other crucial steps following a disaster, outlined on page 7.

We hope you find this reading interesting and stimulating. Please contact us with any comments or suggestions for future issues.

—Sheila E. Salvatore, Editor

Would you know exactly what to do if a tornado, hurricane or flood struck tomorrow, and would your organization ultimately survive if one did? In addition to the loss of infrastructure and equipment, you must also deal with out-of-work staff, strained resources and an attack on financial reserves; all of which can destroy the future of your organization.

Even if your organization avoids direct damage from a disaster, operations

will likely be interrupted by damages to power supplies, road systems, water resources and civil enforcement measures such as limited access and curfews.

A common denominator with those agencies that have difficulty with their recovery is the absence of progressive mitigation strategies, a detailed recovery plan and a team to implement both. Something as simple as the purchase of generators prior to an