Introduction To Emergency Management 6th Edition by George Haddow – Test Bank

Introduction To Emergency Management 6th Edition by George Haddow – Test Bank

Chapter 7
The Disciplines of Emergency Management: Recovery

Recovery operations often begin in the initial hours or days following a disaster and may continue for years. Recovery decisions and actions relate to rebuilding homes; replacing property; resuming employment and livelihoods; restoring businesses; and permanently repairing and rebuilding infrastructure. Because recovery outcomes have long-lasting ramifications and are associated with high costs, the stakeholders are more numerous than in preparedness, mitigation, or recovery. Effective recovery planners and managers bring the different players together to plan, finance and implement a recovery strategy that will rebuild the disaster-impacted area safer and more secure as quickly as possible.

Federal recovery activities begin immediately after a Presidential declaration. FEMA has historically obligated an annual average of $2.88 billion on public assistance projects for major disaster declarations (with an average of $58 million per major disaster declaration) and $153 million in individual assistance for emergency declarations (averaging nearly $11 million per emergency declaration). However, local government predominantly drives the decisions during recovery.

Fundamentals of Disaster Recovery
Once immediate lifesaving activities are complete, the focus shifts to recovery. Short-term recovery is immediate and overlaps with response. Long-term recovery may involve some of the same actions as short term recovery but continues for months or years. Recovery is unique to each community, depending on the amount and kind of damage and the resources available.

Recovery Coordination and Leadership
Coordination is critical to recovery success because it is a complex and long-lasting endeavor and because recovery sectors are so diverse. Actions cannot often occur without inter-sectorial coordination. Leadership is a key component of coordination. Recovery leadership needs are similar to those required during community development but with greater time constraints and elevated pressures. Coordination of recovery activities must begin concurrently with disaster response operations as many response decisions influence how long-term recovery plays out. Four common coordination structures include: 1) a recovery committee; 2) a recovery task force or task group; 3) a recovery organization; and 4) a recovery consultation or advisory group. The Joint Field Office (JFO) remains the central coordination point among local, tribal, state, and federal governments, as well as private sector and nongovernmental entities providing recovery assistance.

Recovery Sectors
Disasters inflict profound impacts on communities, and the variance between different communities’ impacts makes disaster recovery planning difficult. Planning efforts even for similar hazards can be very different between communities due to the nature of the specific impacts incurred. Recovery needs and capacities are diverse, so planners group them into defined themes called sectors. Different recovery requirements call upon different resources, and differing requirements affect operational timelines (and are further influenced by social norms, perceptions, preferences, and legal frameworks.) For planners, such differences may dictate the need for specialized teams or work groups to be established.

Federal Government Disaster Recovery Assistance
For most communities impacted by a major disaster, successful recovery would be difficult or even impossible without Federal government assistance. This assistance is currently coordinated through the National Disaster Recovery Framework, or NDRF. While the Stafford Act continues to provide the necessary statutory authority, prior to the introduction of the NDRF Federal disaster recovery assistance was guided by the Federal Response Plan (FRP), and then by the National Response Plan (NRP) Emergency Support Function (ESF) 14 “Long-Term Community Recovery”, and finally the National Response Framework which also had an ESF#14. The NDRF officially replaced ESF#14 in 2011. Its purpose is to ensure coordination and recovery planning at all levels of government before a disaster, and to define how stakeholders will work together following a disaster to best meet impacted states’ and communities’ needs. It applies to a larger stakeholder audience including non-Federal Government executives, private sector and NGO leaders, emergency managers, community development professionals and disaster recovery practitioners. It contains six RSFs which include: Community Planning and Capacity Building; Economic; Health and Social Services; Housing; Infrastructure; and Natural and Cultural Resources. It bases achievement of effective recovery upon the adherence to nine core principles, and identifies 7 factors that drive successful recovery.