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

8 D I SAS T E R R ECOVE RY TODAY.COM and past initiatives that could support the pre-disaster recovery planning process. One strategy — to gauge the preparedness of a community and its ability to manage recovery operations — is to utilize stakeholder groups to answer a series of questions like those outlined in the table on page 7. UtilizeWorking Groups to Establish Operational Organization One of the most reoccurring lessons learned from 2017 and 2018 was the need for a clearly defined organizational structure for recovery. Communities can reinforce organizational principles of recovery in the pre-disaster recovery planning process. By designating those agencies and organizations that are either coordinating, primary or supporting agencies and organizations for critical recovery functions, communities can establish working groups to determine vulnerabilities, resources and capabilities associated with each recovery function. This can support continued planning and preparedness after the document has been written. Working groups should be encouraged to identify potential impacts hazards could have and the unique consequences for the communities they serve. Understanding the impacts of the community can help focus the planning efforts. Both direct and indirect impacts should be assessed, such as: • Direct Impacts – Economic impacts to small and large businesses. – Cultural resources. – Environmental and natural resources. – Infrastructure systems. – Social impacts. – Affordable and accessible housing stock. Continued from 6