Disaster Response and Recovery Planning and Management

Two of the most important components of the overall consequence management plan are disaster response and recovery. A disaster response plan should be rapidly scalable, adaptable and flexible to encompass swiftly changing events and scenarios. Written to be consistent with the National Response Plan, it should be developed by a team of stakeholders and subject-matter experts drawn from across the organization itself and representative of the broader business or community including the private sector, governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations. By following a set of logical steps such as gathering and analyzing information, establishing operational objectives and identifying various ways to achieve those objectives, disaster response planning enables a business or community to develop a structure to work through complex problems.

Recovery planning spans the periods before, during and after an event – with a particular emphasis on the post-event period and the different objectives associated with short- and long-term recovery. Short-term recovery planning focuses, first, on ensuring the availability of food, shelter, medical care and critical life-saving equipment in the immediate aftermath of an incident and, second, on the restoration of utilities, reestablishment of transportation routes and other critical tasks needed to stabilize the situation for the survivors of the event. Long-term recovery deals with the larger issues of rebuilding the community, its infrastructure, housing and businesses as well as other social and economic issues of those affected.

Decision-making under disaster-related conditions is difficult, in part, because impacts on various stakeholder interests can vary widely and spark conflict. Making the right “calls” requires experienced hands on the tiller, people trained and experienced in dealing in these environments and skilled in consensus-building and conflict resolution. Hillard Heintze can bring these tools to your organization and your community.