Readying for Recovery: Strategies to Support Pre-Disaster Recovery Planning

TIDALBASINGROUP.COM 5 an organization. This led to a delay in fully undertaking recovery operations.” As seen with other events in 2017, the transition from response to recovery was not well defined. “There was no clear pivot point for staff to realign priorities and reorganize into a Recovery Operations Center or establish a Recovery Working Group. The lack of a clearly defined transition point created confusion for EOC staff, as some saw a decreased mission while others continued at high rates of activity. As response wound down, staff were not retained to support short-term recovery. Logistics was tasked to support recovery task forces that were not part of the EOC function. This also did not support clear public messaging that recovery is underway or trigger formal demobilization efforts.” Lastly, the County of Sonoma found that their recovery operations lacked direction and leadership. Without a pre-disaster recovery plan, along with partnership challenges at the state, local and federal levels, this “led to delays in developing a recovery management organization.” As a result, the state established regional recovery task forces in coordination with federal agencies and the County was challenged to participate in all due to a lack of staff. 10 Pre-Disaster Recovery Planning Strategies As discussed and sourced above, events continue to highlight the need for more coordinated pre-disaster recovery planning. The following can all be valuable references in helping communities plan for recovery before a disaster strikes: • Guidelines and templates, such as FEMA’s Pre-Disaster Recovery Planning Guide for Local Governments (2017); 11 • FEMA’s Pre-Disaster Recovery Planning Guide for State Governments; 12 • Guidance from the American Planning Association on Planning for Post-Disaster Recovery: Next Generation. 13 In addition, the following planning strategies can support comprehensive pre-disaster recovery planning at the state and local level. Planning as a Process As emergency management planners know, planning is a process — not a product. It is important to remember that in order for pre-disaster recovery plans to be effective, they need to be developed through a collaborative approach, trained and circulated, and routinely exercised. Collaborate and Engage Recovery is a complex problem that involves multiple disciplines and multiple “As emergency management planners know, planning is a process — not a product. It is important to remember that in order for pre-disaster recovery plans to be effective, they need to be developed through a collaborative approach, trained and circulated, and routinely exercised.”