Post Disaster Recovery Planning Toolkit

Step 5: Formulate Recovery Projects and Draft the Plan

 

 

 
 

Step 5: Formulate Recovery Project and Draft Plan

 
 

Step 1

Get Started

Step 2

Establish Post-Disaster Recovery Coordination

Step 3

Identify Recovery Sectors and Build Partnerships

Step 4

Communicate and Engage with Community Stakeholders

Step 5

Formulate Recovery Projects and Draft Plan

Step 6

Implement and Monitor Recovery

 

Step 5

In this step, recovery planners work with community stakeholders to define and document successful recovery and identify the actions and resources that will be required to achieve that successful outcome.

Guiding Questions

Define Success: What does successful recovery mean for our community?
Define Values: What community values must be reflected in the recovery that is achieved?
Outline Projects: What major projects are critical to recovery, and how do they support the recovery vision?
Outline Implementation: How will the community implement the identified recovery projects, including human, financial, and other resources?

Checklist for Step 5

  • Activity 1: Formulate Resilient Recovery Projects
  • Activity 2: Identify Financial, Material, and Technical Assistance Resources
  • Activity 3: Draft, Socialize, and Approve the Community Recovery Plan

 

Step 5, Activity 1: Formulate Resilient Recovery Projects

The purpose of this activity is to identify potential recovery projects, determine mitigation strategies and prioritize projects.

Why?

By now, you've brought the community together to identify issues and establish a community vision. You've reached out to local, state, and federal organizations and agencies to partner in this recovery effort. Now it is time for the Long-Term Community Recovery (LTCR) team to begin identifying the projects that will address the community issues and vision. As projects are identified and developed, priorities will need to be established and a recovery value can be identified for each project. The LTCR team will need to evaluate and prioritize each project.

When?

Upon completion of the Initial Damage Assessment, or as soon as it is determined that long-term community recovery efforts will be needed. (Days 31-120)

How does my community do this?

  1. Identify recovery projects and actions. To identify recovery projects and actions, it is necessary to understand the community’s priorities for the recovery plan.  A good place to start is utilizing this template, referencing the FEMA Long-Term Community Recovery Process Guide (Pages 47-53), and reviewing the Douglas County Disaster Recovery Plan. The below priorities are not intended to be exclusive of one another; they are intended to provide a relative framework for the design and implementation of recovery programs and actions, and the allocation of limited resources. They include:

    • Public safety and security. 

    • Critical infrastructure to include communications, roadways, water, sewer, natural gas, electrical power, aviation facilities, and railways.

    • Critical community services and facilities such as hospitals and other medical services, schools, and childcare resources.

    • Economic stability initially based on critical needs such as grocery and hardware stores, pharmacy and drug stores, gas stations, and other suppliers of daily needed goods.

    • Maintaining government services as described in the county’s Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP).

    • Social well-being includes religious organizations, community centers, and other social support mechanisms.

    • Protection and restoration of natural and cultural resources such as libraries, museums, historical sites, and parks.

    • Protecting property and the environment. 

  2. Identify opportunities to mitigate impacts from future disasters. Determine ways that would re-establish a healthy, functioning community that will sustain itself over time and be resilient to future disruptions. Examples of actions include: 

    • Providing permanent disaster-resistant housing units to replace those destroyed.

    • Initiating a low-interest facade loan program for the portion of the downtown area that sustained damage from the disaster (and thus encouraging other improvements that revitalize downtown). 

    • Initiating a buy-out of flood-prone properties and designating them community open space.

    • Widening a bridge or roadway that improves both residents' access to employment areas and improves a disaster evacuation route.

  3. Evaluate and prioritize projects. The project identification process will result in the discovery of many valid projects. Yet some of these projects may have competing priorities and/or implementation time limits. Every project - large or small - must be evaluated and prioritized for implementation. The Colorado Resiliency Prioritization Criteria Assessment Tool can help your community rank projects based on the State’s nine resiliency prioritization criteria. Alternatively use this Identifying, Evaluating, and Prioritizing Long Term Recovery Projects template. In the end, each identified project must satisfy two guiding principles: 

    • Does the project address the Vision and Goals of the Community as identified through the community visioning process? 

    • Does the project focus on the overall Community Recovery?

Community Call Out: Town of Limon

In 2018, the Town of Limon needed to mitigate floodplain problems created by actions of the long-bankrupt Rock Island Railroad. Past actions by the railroad had resulted in the enlargement of the floodplain to cover almost 1/3 of the Town of Limon. Limon was able to apply for and manage a unique flood mitigation package by working with a diverse group of stakeholders.

 

Step 5, Activity 2: Identify Financial, Material, and technical assistance resources

The purpose of this activity is to identify resources that will meet the community’s selected projects specific needs. Each incident will differ in terms of the sources and quantities of money, people, and materials that are available. Recovery leaders and organizations work with community stakeholders to identify and secure these resources during the recovery planning process.

Tips

Develop relationships with potential partnership (and funding) agencies. These relationships allow the community to fully understand the policies, timelines, limitations, and parameters of the partnering agencies. It also allows the community to communicate and "sell" the project and the scope of redevelopment to the partnering agency.

Why?

Communities must seek support and interest from agencies and organizations willing to invest in a project, a community, and a process. Since most available funding through agencies and organizations is competitive, communities must distinguish themselves and their respective projects from among other projects competing for the same funding resources.

When?

Upon completion of the Initial Damage Assessment, or as soon as it is determined that long-term community recovery efforts will be needed. (Days 31-120)

How does my community do this?

  1. Identify potential local funding sources that will provide matching funds for securing grants. Start local! Are there funding opportunities from the community's General Fund? From potential bond issues? From a Capital Improvement Fund? To encourage stakeholders, a community must demonstrate its commitment and active participation in the project. Once this review has occurred you can investigate funding, technical assistance, or other resources from various sources such as Public Agencies (Local, State, Federal), Not-For-Profit Agencies and Private Foundations, the business community. and other organizations or entities (The Trust For Public Land, Habitat for Humanity, and a local/regional Community Foundation or Public or private Colleges or Universities). 

  2. Develop and implement a funding strategy. When considering the funding aspect of a project, there are two important strategies to consider: 1) Make sure the funding program or resource matches the recovery project and 2) Be prepared to make adjustments to the project scope, scale, timing, or phasing to ensure access to available resources.

  3. Document all disaster impacts (i.e., damage and destruction of critical infrastructure, business buildings, and homes, displacement of community members, etc.) in case the disaster impacts rise to the level that the community may become eligible for Federal disaster relief through a Presidential major disaster declaration. The DHSEM and Governor’s office will need all documentation of impacts to prepare an application to the President for a major disaster declaration. 

  4. Should there be a Presidential declaration: Identify potential Federal recovery funding programs. Some of these include the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Community Development Block Grants (CDBG), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Economic Development Administration (EDA), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development, U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), related state departments and agencies. FEMA provides recovery funding through two primary disaster assistance programs: Individual Assistance and Public Assistance. In addition, identify potential hazard mitigation funding sources primarily from FEMA. Hazard Mitigation can be a key component of your LTCR strategy, and there are several funding sources for implementing hazard mitigation techniques and projects.

 

Step 5, Activity 3: Draft the Recovery Plan

The purpose of this activity is to develop an engagement plan to include community input in your recovery plan. In this activity, the recovery organization captures and documents the road to recovery.

Tips

  • Use the plan! Use the plan as a medium of public engagement to conceptualize what recovery means and what planners have identified as the means to get there. Also, use the plan as a means of communication. Once finalized and implemented, the plan becomes the long-term roadmap for the community, which helps to ensure that recovery stays on track. Finally, format the plan to be designed to assist communities to prioritize projects for future implementation.
  • Ensure the plan outlines community support, identification of project need, a description of the project, and cost estimates of the project. Keep it succinct and concise. Where there is a need for additional project information, reference rather than summarize or attach it.

Why?

The recovery plan is driven by community engagement and must therefore be accepted by community stakeholders. Disaster assistance depends on the community’s ability to relate recovery goals to larger plans. Fitting disaster recovery into broad community goals allows officials to be more creative in thinking about the kinds of funds that may be appropriate to the situation. Those can include a variety of focus areas with co-benefits: rural economic development, housing, transportation, environmental protection, parks and recreation, urban redevelopment, and even health and sanitation.

When?

The process of drafting a community recovery plan is conducted concurrently with many of the previous steps in the disaster recovery planning process, as the completion of each of these steps is what informs the plan. (Days 31 - Ongoing)

How does my community do this?

  1. Collect data and information through public engagement and situational awareness.

  2. Develop the Recovery Plan design and content. Compiling all of the information you have developed up to this point and communicating it clearly in a formal plan is one of the most important steps in the process. This FEMA guidance provides an overview of a general plan design you could follow. In addition, you can find a draft template to start from. The plan should be clear and concise for the community to engage with and understand. There should also be clear recommendations for how the plan’s proposed goals, policies, projects, and programs are to be integrated into other local plans and regulations as needed. 

  3. Distribute copies of the Recovery Plan in print and electronic forms. A clear process for public review and comment and plan adoption and activation should be articulated in the plan document. Another round of review should be conducted with the stakeholder group, elected officials, and the public, with the feedback integrated into a revised draft plan. 

  4. Monitor recovery activities and review and update the plan as the recovery process progresses.

  5. Adopt the plan. A more formalized process of public hearings might also be conducted by the appropriate elected bodies, the city planning commission and city council, responsible for the adoption of the plan.

Community Call Out: Town of Lyons

Through the Town of Lyons Recovery Action Plan, the town established that the vision of recovery was one of “recovering stronger, more sustainably, and more resilient than before.”

 

Additional Guidance for Step 5

Click on the question to expand the answer.

+ What are some additional key resources I could read to learn more?

+ Tell me more about Long-Term Community Recovery (LTCR) planning.

Long-Term Community Recovery (LTCR) planning occurs after a disaster where specific projects and needs can be identified. "Long-term" refers to the need to re-establish a healthy, functioning community that will sustain itself over time. Examples of long-term community recovery actions include:

  • Assessing disaster specific impacts and needs.
  • Aligning recovery strategies with community values and priorities.
  • Providing permanent disaster-resistant housing units to replace those destroyed.
  • Initiating a low-interest facade loan program for downtown areas that sustained damage from the disaster (and thus encouraging other improvements that revitalize downtown).
  • Initiating a buy-out of flood-prone properties and designating them community open space.
  • Widening bridges or roadways that improve residents' access and evacuation routes.
  • Identifying long-term resilience opportunities.

LTCR is the process of establishing a community-based, post-disaster vision and identifying projects (and project funding strategies) best suited to achieve those projects. Each community's LTCR program is shaped by the community itself, the damage sustained, the issues identified, and the community's post-disaster vision for the future. The LTCR process has been successful in bringing communities together to focus on their long-term recovery issues. The plan should incorporate the post-disaster community vision and identify projects that are aimed at achieving that vision. When conducting LTCR planning, it is important to identify and include information specific to frontline communities. Long-term community recovery provides an opportunity to put a community back together in an improved and more resilient way.

+ How do I assess the recovery value of my LTCR projects?

Criteria for assessing the recovery value of your LTCR projects are:

  • Post-Disaster Community Need: Community need varies depending upon the magnitude of the event and the impact of damages affecting your community. Community need projects are those that satisfy a previously identified need, leverage other projects or funding sources, or have broad community support.
  • Project Feasibility: Can the project be achieved with available resources, within regulatory and logistical constraints, and within a realistic time frame? Does it have sufficient community support to get off the ground?
  • Project Sustainability: Sustainable development projects are those that can help prevent acts of nature from becoming disasters. Sustainable development implies not only disaster-resistance, such as relocating a structure or restricting new construction in particularly vulnerable areas, but also resource efficiency, or the prudent use of energy, water, and natural resources to ensure healthy communities for future generations to come.
  • Crosscutting Benefits: A project's overall cross-cutting benefit is measured based on its:
  • Economic Impact: Projects with significant economic impact can be defined as those that create jobs, reestablish critical infrastructure that allows the economy to function, and provide new economic opportunities for future generations.
  • High Visibility and Increase of Community Capacity: Ensuring a visible and measured process of long-term community recovery can have a significant impact on personal courage and community spirit during a time of extreme stress and uncertainty.
  • Linkages Throughout the Community and Leverages Other Projects & Funding: If you develop a series of supportive projects, linked to other segments within the community you will have a greater impact on recovery than an individual or stand-alone project.
  • Enhancements to Quality of Life in the Community: Projects that improve the quality of life can have a direct impact on the decisions that businesses and people make regarding relocation.

+ If there is a Presidential major disaster declaration, what are FEMA’s two primary disaster assistance programs?

  • Individual Assistance - for Presidentially declared major disasters, provides financial assistance and direct services to eligible individuals and households who have uninsured or underinsured necessary expenses and serious needs. IHP Assistance is not a substitute for insurance and cannot compensate for all losses caused by a disaster; it is intended to meet basic needs and supplement disaster recovery efforts. IHP Assistance is not considered income or a resource when determining eligibility for welfare, income assistance, or income-tested benefit programs that the Federal government funds, such as Social Security benefits or disability income. IHP Assistance is also exempt from garnishment or seizure, but this exception does not apply to assistance recovered by FEMA after being received in error or fraud.
  • Public Assistance -for Presidentially declared major disaster, provides assistance to State, local, Territorial, or Tribal (SLTT) governments, and certain types of private nonprofit (PNP) organizations so that communities can quickly respond to and recover from major disasters or emergencies declared by the President. Through the PA Program, FEMA provides supplemental Federal grant assistance for debris removal, emergency protective measures, and the restoration of disaster-damaged, publicly owned facilities and specific facilities of certain PNP organizations. The PA Program also encourages the protection of these damaged facilities from future incidents by assisting with hazard mitigation measures. FEMA provides this assistance based on authority in statutes, executive orders (EOs), regulations, and policies.

+ If there is a Presidential major disaster declaration, who is eligible for a Small Business Administration (SBA) disaster loan?

SBA Disaster Loans - in Presidentially declared disaster areas, businesses of all sizes located, private nonprofit organizations, homeowners, and renters affected by declared disaster, including civil unrest and natural disasters such as hurricanes, flooding, wildfires, etc. are eligible for an SBA disaster loan. These loans can be used to cover losses not covered by insurance or funding from FEMA for both personal losses (i.e. rebuild a private residence) and business losses (i.e. property damage or destruction). Business operating expenses that could have been met had the disaster not occurred are also eligible uses of an SBA Loan.

+ What are FEMA’s four major hazard mitigation funding programs?

+ What are common priorities for a recovery plan?

  • Public safety and security
  • Critical infrastructure
  • Critical community services and facilities
  • Economic stability
  • Maintaining government services
  • Social well-being
  • Protecting property and the environment

+ What types of hazard mitigation projects can FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Fund (HMGP) fund?

  • Acquisition of hazard-prone homes and businesses
  • Protecting homes and businesses with permanent barriers to prevent from entering (levees, floodwalls, floodproofing)
  • Elevating structures above-known flood levels (elevation)
  • Reconstructing a damaged dwelling on an elevated foundation
  • Structural retrofits to make a building more resistant
  • Retrofits to utilities and other infrastructure
  • Construction of safe rooms
  • Slope stabilization projects
  • Drainage improvement projects
  • Post-disaster code enforcement
  • Developing and adopting hazard mitigation plans

+ What are some examples of project ratings developed by FEMA?

High Recovery Value Project - Those projects assigned a high recovery value are catalyst projects that serve as important building blocks for recovery. Typically, a High Recovery Value project will:

  • Fill a post-disaster community need
  • Provide leveraging and create linkages for other projects and funding
  • Be related to the physical damage from the disaster
  • Encourage private investment
  • Have strong community support
  • Have access to the resources needed to carry out the project
  • Be realistic in its outcome - is achievable
  • Avert future losses
  • Use resources efficiently
  • Have community-wide impact Moderate Recovery Value Project - Those projects assigned a moderate recovery value are projects that can be expected to have a clear and positive impact on recovery, but by their nature are limited in scope, span, impact, or benefits to less than community-wide significance and/or support. A moderate recovery value project also will typically be related to the physical damage from the disaster. Low Recovery Value Project - Low Recovery Value projects either do not have a direct link to the disaster and its damages, lack public support, and/or provide few if any, identifiable benefits to the community related to disaster recovery. In many cases, a low recovery value project will fall far short of the resources needed to carry out the project, may generate questions regarding its achievability, and may only impact a small portion of the community. Community support for a project that has a low recovery value may have support from a portion of the community but lack general community support. Community Interest Project - A Community Interest project may be extremely important to a community even though it does not have a significant recovery value. An example of a Community Interest Project might be a new community library structure even though the existing, inadequate structure was not damaged in the disaster. Plans for a new library may have been in place for some time, but the initiative and/or the resources did not come together. The disaster may create an opportunity to move the project forward. The project has significant support in the community and will replace an outmoded facility, but it contributes little to the community's recovery from the disaster.

+ What is HMGP?

HMGP assists communities in rebuilding in a better, stronger, and safer way to become more resilient overall. The HMGP can fund a wide variety of mitigation projects. These can include:

  • The acquisition of hazard-prone homes and businesses enables owners to relocate to safer areas (acquisition).
  • Protecting homes and businesses with permanent barriers to prevent floodwater from entering (levees, floodwalls, floodproofing).
  • Elevating structures above known flood levels to prevent and reduce losses (elevation).
  • Reconstructing a damaged dwelling on an elevated foundation to prevent and reduce future flood losses.
  • Structural retrofits make a building more resistant to floods, earthquakes, wind, wildfire, and other natural hazards.
  • Retrofits to utilities and other infrastructure to enhance resistance to natural hazards (utility retrofits).
  • Construction of safe rooms for both communities and individual residences in areas prone to tornado activity.
  • Slope stabilization projects to prevent and reduce losses to structures.
  • Drainage improvement projects to reduce flooding (flood risk reduction projects).
  • Post-disaster code enforcement.
  • Developing and adopting hazard mitigation plans, which are required for state, local, tribal and territorial governments to receive funding for their hazard mitigation projects.

+ Any tips on developing a Funding Package?

In the end, each project consists of various elements that create a complete package. Preparing a funding package consists of three important steps.

  • The community must look at the project and its scale and scope to determine how the project could be logically divided into phases. While it should not be the intent to develop a project that requires phasing, a community needs to look at a project from this perspective. This approach will allow the flexibility to develop portions of projects where total funding or resources may not yet exist or be available.
  • You must look internally to determine if any funds are available through existing revenue streams or new or potential sources of local revenue. This second step is crucial - as it ensures the community is committed to investing in its project. This step also demonstrates to outside agencies that the community is willing to become a primary stakeholder in the redevelopment and recovery process.
  • Finally, a community should evaluate the funding programs and resources available at the regional, state, and federal levels that will allow the leveraging of local funds to complete a given project. Focus on existing or standard state and federal programs as your first choice. Don't rely on special appropriations from state or federal agencies that may or may not come to fruition. These resources may not always consist of actual cash investment. In reality, there are numerous opportunities where in-kind services or technical assistance may provide a comparable level of support.