All Hands Disaster Recovery and Reconstruction Services

"Recovery and Reconstruction" refers to actions taken by communities, businesses, and disaster victims, which enable them to begin the process of rebuilding their homes; replacing property; resuming employment; restoring their businesses; repairing, rebuilding, or relocating public infrastructure; and mitigating future disaster losses.

A “Disaster Recovery Plan” is designed to identify those actions that local agencies must take to support themselves, other agencies, and the public to coordinate emergency recovery activities at the conclusion of the response activities. The plan should provide emergency management personnel and others with operational guidance in order to effectively manage recovery activities in the aftermath of a disaster.

In the past, recovery was left to ad hoc processes and a “lets not worry about that when it happens” philosophy. Preplanning for the recovery process and identifying documentation needs is the key to successful recovery operations. The mission of recovery planning is to anticipate what will be needed to restore the organization to full functioning as rapidly as possible. Successful recovery from disaster will only occur if everyone involved understands the process, and how they fit in. Individuals must understand their responsibilities and must coordinate their work efforts with recovery leaders.

Recovery goals include:

• Maintain Leadership.
• Utilize local initiative and resources.
• Maximize state/federal programs and benefits.
• Establish and maintain communications to and from others.
• Provide a point of contact.
• Make maximum use of damage assessment for recovery planning.
• Promote full recovery.

All Hands’ approach will concentrate on the specific details (plans and SOPs) required for an effective recovery program. The project deliverables will provide the plans and job aids necessary for a successful recovery program.

All Hands Disaster Recovery Planning

The All Hands approach to Disaster Recovery Planning is intended to enhance the organization’s Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan by establishing a standard operating procedure that will serve as the basis for the recovery program and guide future recovery operations should a disaster occur.

The scope of work includes: identifying issues to be addressed in developing recovery and reconstruction plans; preparing draft recovery and reconstruction plans; reviewing existing policies, plans and regulations or laws that relate to recovery and reconstruction after a disaster; reviewing federal, state, and other local policies and regulations relating to recovery and reconstruction after a disaster; and developing and drafting goals and policies that focus on recovery and reconstruction after a disaster.

A local government Recovery Plan should:

• Outline the local government recovery management structure and management process.
• Describe the organizational networks and structures appropriate to recovery.
• Formalize arrangements for the effective management of the recovery process.
• Facilitate the recovery of affected individuals, businesses, infrastructure and local government as quickly and practicably as possible.
• Involve all agencies with a role to play in the recovery process.
• Ensure community participation in the recovery process.
• Identify responsibilities and tasks of key agencies.
• Describe appropriate resource arrangements.
• Be as simple as possible.

All Hands Disaster Recovery Planning Model

All Hands will work with your organization’s emergency management coordinator to develop the recovery plan and program. The final product will address the specifics of the recovery process, identify likely recovery functions and the roles and responsibilities of the various departments, agencies and organizations, provide for the development of a recovery incident action plan that is incident specific, and should work in concert with County and State recovery plans.

By utilizing All Hand’s methodologies, this project and its resulting end products will:

• Provide the local government officials the “tools” needed to achieve recovery goals.
• Produce a detailed community recovery plan and procedures.
• Define community conditions needed for successful disaster recovery.
• Identify a methodology for community recovery planning (i.e. creating a recovery incident action plan)
• Identify the key policy issues that local officials must decide following disasters.
• Detail the types of recovery functions that local governments must perform during disaster recovery (our model suggests 22 recovery functions; we write an implementing procedure for each).
• Identify primary recovery activities.
• Produce a SOP for a Recovery Task Force.
• Tie in mitigation to recovery efforts (encourage identification of mitigation opportunities during the damage assessment and recovery planning phases).
• Development of a post disaster recovery ordinance.

By utilizing All Hands’ methodologies, this project and its resulting end products will accomplish these objectives.

Experience

We have extensive experience at local and state government levels with recovery planning, and administering recovery programs (Presidential Disaster Declarations) and have developed numerous disaster recovery plans for cities and counties as an annex or attachment to their CEMP. In addition, we have provided damage assessment design, planning, standard operating procedures (SOPs) development, and training of damage assessment teams.