DISASTER RECOVERY

By,
USMAN ILYAS
Assistant Professor
Civil Engineering Department
University of Management & Technology, Lahore
Disaster Recovery
 Disaster Recovery
There is no real consensus about when
the response phase of the Emergency Management
Cycle ends and the recovery phase begins.
While response involves immediate actions taken to
save lives, protect property, and meet basic human
needs, recovery is not as easily defined.
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 Disaster Recovery
• Recovery is the fourth phase of disaster and is the
restoration of all aspects of the disaster’s impact on
a community and the return of the local economy
to some sense of normality.
• By this time, the impacted region has achieved a
degree of physical, environmental, economic and
social stability.
 Disaster Recovery
The recovery phase of disaster can be broken into
two periods.
• The short-term phase typically lasts from six
months to at least one year and involves delivering
immediate services to businesses.
• The long-term phase, which can range up to
decades, requires thoughtful strategic planning and
action to address more serious or permanent
impacts of a disaster.
 Disaster Recovery
The National Response Framework (NRF) published by
the Department of Homeland Security in 2008 describes
short-term and long-term recovery as follows:
Short-term recovery is immediate and overlaps with
response. It includes actions such as providing essential
public health and safety services, restoring interrupted
utility and other essential services, reestablishing
transportation routes, and providing food and shelter for
those displaced by the incident. Although called “short
term,” some of these activities may last for weeks.
Long-term recovery, which is outside the scope of the
Framework, may involve some of the same actions but
may continue for a number of months or years,
depending on the severity and extent of the damage
sustained. For example, long-term recovery may include
the complete redevelopment of damaged areas. (DHS
2008, 45)
 Disaster Recovery
• Investment in economic development capacity
building becomes essential to foster economic
diversification, attain new resources, build new
partnerships and implement effective recovery
strategies and tactics.
• Communities must access and deploy a range of
public and private resources to enable long-term
economic recovery.
 Disaster Recovery
• During a recovery phase, which takes place after an
incident had occurred, affected community is
assisted in restoration of concerned area.
• The phase comprises initial rehabilitation during
which services are restored to their regular order,
so local governments and responsible agencies
regain the ability to manage the ongoing recovery
processes and repair of social, physical and
economic damage.
 Disaster Recovery
• Recovery also concerns long term reconstruction of
health, utility and communication facilities.
• Finally, efforts to reduce future risk factors should
also be included in the plan.
Disaster Planning for Economic Recovery
• After a disaster, communities are often unprepared
for the confusion that emerges, even if they have
engaged in pre-disaster planning.
• Planning for long-term recovery seems like a
difficult task when there are rebuilding needs to
address.
Disaster Planning for Economic Recovery
• Still, a disaster-impacted community needs to
develop a vision for how it will rebuild its economy.
It takes time, leadership, and resources – all of
which will be in short supply – to develop an
economic recovery plan with buy-in from
community stakeholders.
• Yet, a post-disaster strategic plan provides the
opportunity to re-evaluate economic objectives in
light of vulnerabilities to disaster, and establish
strategies and action steps to make progress
toward long-term recovery.
 The Recovery Function
• The recovery function can often begin in the initial
hours and days following a disaster and often
continues for months, and in some cases years,
depending on the severity of the event.
• Recovery activities can be characterized by complex
issues and decisions that must be made by the
impacted individuals and communities.
 The Recovery Function
• These involve addressing challenges such as:
• Rebuilding homes,
• Replacing property,
• Resuming employment,
• Restoring businesses, and
• Permanently repairing and rebuilding infrastructure.

The process of the recovery phase requires

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Disaster Recovery Functions
 Partners in Recovery
• Each partner plays a key role in determining the
progress of the recovery phase.
• These roles can be regulatory, such as the application
of state and local building ordinances, and some
provide important financial support, such as insurance
provisions.
• The process of recovering from a disaster has long-
lasting effects, and often incurs high costs. Therefore,
the participating partners in the process are
numerous and diverse. They include:
Partners in Recovery

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THANKS