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

T IDALBAS INGROUP.COM 11 • Allowance for volunteer agency trailers. • Allowance for debris clearance and hazard abatement. • Allowance for damage assessment and placarding. • Allowance to establish one-stop service centers for permitting and licensing. The need for pre-event contracts was emphasized after the 2017 hurricane season. In its hurricane season afteraction report, FEMA identified the need to support state, local, tribal and territorial governments in improving capabilities for disaster cost recovery, pre-event contracting and contract enforcement. Pre-event contracts allow for communities to fully comply with Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) prior to a disaster, therefore bringing needed supplies and services to the community more efficiently after a disaster. Conclusion Numerous recent events have underscored the need for pre-disaster recovery planning. This effort is a comprehensive whole-community process which, if done right, takes time and a diverse array of stakeholders. Bringing these stakeholders together prior to a disaster will lead to a more effective and efficient recovery, not only for the jurisdiction, but for its residents as well. There are more than 89,000 communities that make up the nation — each with unique capabilities, vulnerabilities and needs. Community leaders must work together to ensure a plan to support community-based recovery. The most effective way to accomplish this is through pre-disaster recovery planning. “This effort is a comprehensive wholecommunity process which, if done right, takes time and a diverse array of stakeholders.” It is our hope that as communities begin or continue their efforts to plan for recovery, it is done collaboratively — utilizing and expanding upon plans and processes already in place rather than creating new ones — and focusing on the implementation of capabilities and tools to be used in a recovery operation. Through these efforts, communities will be better prepared to respond to — and recover from— disasters that can come their way. FEMA/Steve Zumwalt

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