Recovery

Why is recovery so important?

Recent incidents such as Hurricane Katrina, the Honshu earthquake, Nashville's flooding, and the Joplin tornado have clearly demonstrated the need for jurisdictions to consider how they will recover from such disasters before they happen.

Snohomish County is vulnerable to natural hazards, including floods, and is not immune to the potential for a human-made hazard such as terrorist acts or accidental releases of hazardous materials.

The Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management (DEM), recognizing the need to proactively address post-disaster issues, is developing a recovery framework that would speed up recovery from local disasters. The plan will guide the county’s efforts to restore its economic base, neighborhoods, social fabric, and other long-term elements in the wake of a significant natural or human-caused event.

• Phase One of the recovery plan has involved analyzing hazard risks throughout the county, reviewing existing recovery plans from around the nation, identifying best practices and lessons learned, and interviewing public and private officials whose organizations would likely be involved in a recovery effort following a major disaster event in Snohomish County.
  
  • Pre-Disaster Recovery Framework
  • Recovery Planning Lessons Learned
  • Recovery Support Functions Annexes
  • Recovery Planning Value-Added Deliverables
  • Recovery Planning Lessons Learned - Appendix: Round 2 Interviews
    
• Phase Two of the project includes the establishment of a steering committee comprised of representatives from government, business, nonprofits and service sectors to guide the development of the plan with a focus on recovery goals, strategies, procedures and resources.

While the effects of disasters cannot be predicted, planning now can put Snohomish County in a position to recover as quickly as possible, allowing residents to return to the quality of life they expect and deserve.

Timeline

• Pre-Disaster Recovery Framework, August 2011-April 2012
• Schedule and Conduct Steering Committee meetings, February-April 2011
• Identifying Steering Committee Members, January 2011
• Hazard Risks Analysis, August-December 2010
• Project Launch, August 2010

Additional Resources

• National Disaster Recovery Framework Initiative (FEMA)
• Protect your property or business from disaster (FEMA)
• Standard checklist criteria for business recovery (FEMA)
• Long-term Commuty Recovery Reports (FEMA)
• U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)
• Disaster Recovery Information
  (Department of Homeland Security)
• Post-Disaster Redevelopment Planning
• Ready Business