Post Disaster Recovery Planning Toolkit

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

Introduction

This Post Disaster Recovery Toolkit includes six steps to be taken by local governments in the aftermath of a disaster. The Toolkit identifies the timeframes for each Activity in each Step. It is important to understand that many of the Activities included in the Toolkit start simultaneously. Each Activity in the Toolkit should be implemented according to the time frames in the When? section of each Activity.

Glossary

Quick Links

Step 1

In this step, your community will convene recovery stakeholders to begin establishing necessary statutory authorities and measuring the scope and scale of the immediate, short-term, and long-term recovery needs.

Guiding Questions

Authority: What authority is required to initiate, plan for, and implement recovery?
Coordination: How are local disaster recovery operations directed and/or coordinated?
Decision-making: How are initial and long-term recovery planning decisions informed?
Capacity: If the event exceeds local recovery capacity, or if state or federal support will be requested, what information, documentation, and actions are required to support those processes?

Checklist for Step 1

Activity 1: Issue a Recovery-Informed Local Emergency or Disaster Declaration
Activity 2: Activate the Emergency Operations Center (EOC)
Activity 3: Assess and Report Long-Term Recovery Needs
Activity 4: Support the State Declaration Process

Step 1, Activity 1: Issue a Local Emergency or Disaster Declaration

The purpose of this activity is to begin setting up for a long-term recovery process following an emergency or disaster. This includes building an understanding of why and when your community needs to issue an emergency or disaster declaration.

Tips

Ensure the declaration adheres to the provisions of C.R.S. 24-33.5-709.
Include information on timelines of the state of emergency (must expire within 7 days except by consent of the governing board.
Detail the special provisions and authorities that are conferred by the declaration in the language of the declaration itself.
The State does not require a declaration to provide assistance.

Why?
In the immediate aftermath of an emergency or disaster, your community will need help and quick access to resources. Emergency and disaster declarations are the easiest way to do that. Declarations free up many resources needed for damage assessments and open access to funds under the Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR). Depending on local ordinances, a declaration can also establish access to policies, procedures, agreements, and codes that may be available in non-disaster times. And finally, a declaration helps to inform mutual aid partners, non-governmental and private sector organizations, and state and federal authorities that a request for assistance may be forthcoming.
When?
In the first hours to days of the event. (Days 1-30)

How does my community do this?

Identify the procedures for emergency or disaster declaration. These procedures are typically codified in local law and must be closely followed.
Collaborate with your local office of emergency management and long-term recovery stakeholders. Recovery requires good local and regional collaboration. Work together to draft language for an emergency or disaster resolution or declaration (Download an Emergency or Disaster Declaration Template). This process is generally led by the elected official(s).
Ratify and adopt the resolution or declaration.

Community Call Out: City of Golden, CO

City of Golden’s City Manager Jason Slowinski issued an Emergency Declaration related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. This declaration indicated that disaster financing to address recovery costs was likely to be more than what was available to the city and that special authorities were likely to be required to address the ongoing problems, including economic distress. The declaration stated that its issuance activated special recovery aspects of local and inter-jurisdictional disaster emergency plans, and gave key local officials the authority to oversee recovery efforts.

Step 1, Activity 2: Activate The Emergency Operations Center

The purpose of this activity is to learn how to activate the Emergency Operations Center (EOC).

Tips

Include information on timelines of the state of emergency (must A document of all impacts is an important component of community recovery efforts. Should the impacts of a local event overwhelm local capacities, the local government may apply to the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM) for State assistance and the State may apply for Federal assistance. Recipients of state or Federal funding are responsible for maintaining accurate records of the disaster impacts that document and justify applications for assistance and support specific project funding requests.
Begin planning for the transition out of response and into long-term recovery long before the EOC is deactivated to ensure a seamless process.
Take advantage of other communities’ ESF work.(View Pitkin County's Emergency Operations Plan).

Why?
Upon declaring an emergency or disaster, your community Emergency Operations Center (EOC) should be activated. The EOC provides a central place for people, information, and resources. Many communities initiate long-term recovery planning and operations in the EOC.
When?
Throughout the Emergency Operations Center’s activation. (Days 1-30)

How does my community do this?

Activate your community’s Emergency Operations Center. The EOC’s activation is guided by the local emergency operations plan.
Recruit and mobilize recovery experts to assist in initial damage assessments. Through direct and/or informal engagement, recovery stakeholders should be engaged during the initial damage assessments to better capture information that is relevant to long-term recovery planning decisions.
Transition EOC recovery efforts into long-term recovery command and coordination mechanisms. The Emergency Manager deactivates the EOC when your community transitions from response to recovery.

Community Call Out: Rio Blanco County

Rio Blanco County manages the early-, mid- and long-term recovery activities that happen in the Emergency Operations Center using a Community Recovery and Mitigation Annex in the County Emergency Operations Plan.

Step 1, Activity 3: Assess and report long-term recovery needs

The purpose of this activity is to develop an accurate assessment of disaster damages and needs.

Tips

For additional tips on conducting an effective Rapid Needs Assessment, Initial Damage Assessment (IDA), Joint Preliminary Damage Assessment (Joint PDA), and Recovery Assessment see the Additional Guidance section below.

Why?
Until the full extent of damages and needs sustained in your community have been tallied, it is impossible to know whether long-term recovery planning is required, or whether state and/or Federal assistance must be requested. In Colorado, recovery assessment is a multi-phased process that needs to begin in conjunction with early response. The incident’s scope and scale will determine the number and type of recovery-focused assessments conducted. In Colorado, there are four types of assessments (described below). These vary by the amount of detail they seek and the involvement of and coordination between local, state, federal, and other NGO, and private-sector stakeholders.
Assessments are what enable decision-makers to make more informed decisions and they are an important precursor to potential state and federal recovery assistance.
When?
Recovery assessments can begin when the disaster event is ongoing and will be repeated periodically throughout the response and recovery processes. (Days 1 until the recovery is complete)

How does my community do this?

Ensure that long-term community recovery stakeholders are involved in all assessments. Damage and needs assessments are initiated by your community board of commissioners, chief elected official, or emergency manager. For a deeper dive see the FEMA Damage Assessment Operations Manual. There are four types of assessments:
- Rapid Needs Assessment: One or more assessment teams are mobilized in the first 0-72 hours of the incident. Local long-term recovery stakeholders may participate in this process.
- Initial Damage Assessment: This is conducted in the first two days to two weeks of the incident if a formal request has been received from the Regional Field Manager (RFM), State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC), or as determined by the local emergency manager. The assessment findings are reported to the SEOC, and State Verification is obtained. Local long-term recovery stakeholders may participate in this process.
- Joint Preliminary Damage Assessment (Joint PDA): DHSEM may request that this assessment be conducted approximately 2-3 weeks following the incident. Local long-term recovery stakeholders may participate in this process.
- Recovery Assessment: Your community may do this if previous assessments do not adequately inform the recovery planning process. It is more closely focused on ongoing infrastructure repair, the structural safety of public and private facilities, permitting, and other informational needs specific to recovery support. The purpose of this assessment is to help prioritize recovery resource allocation and to formulate recovery projects. See the City of Boulder Initial Disaster Recovery Assessment Process, Pages 9-10.
Create or incorporate standard assessment methodologies to capture data and information that informs long-term recovery. The sooner that your community starts capturing the appropriate and necessary data the better. This data can be used in subsequent phases of recovery.
Create a central information management system to capture community impacts that can be used to support insurance claims and state and federal recovery assistance. Centralized information and approaches to information gathering will help streamline the use of this information to support applications for funding and post-disaster support.

Community Call Out: Larimer County

Larimer County developed a Damage Assessment Annex in the Emergency Operations Plan that helped ensure information relevant to long-term recovery was collected. Larimer County calls the interaction between the different assessment types the ‘assessment continuum’, recognizing that they provide an increasingly detailed picture of community needs. The Recovery Assessment addresses the unmet needs of the community as operations transition out of response, but all assessments have a recognized long-term recovery function.

Step 1, Activity 4: Support the State Declaration Process

The purpose of this activity is to learn about how your community can support the State’s emergency declaration process.

Tips

Municipalities and counties can prepare their state counterparts for a possible future request for assistance by transmitting an emergency or disaster declaration to the State Emergency Operations Line (303-279-8855) as early as possible.
There are differences between a municipal and county declaration in Colorado. If a municipality declares an emergency or disaster but the county does not meet declaration thresholds, the county helps the impacted municipality to make a declaration to the state, but if the county does meet necessary thresholds, the county should provide a coordinated declaration between all impacted local governments in the county.

Why?
In larger disasters, when long-term recovery capacity is exceeded, state and/or federal resources may be required and communities should be prepared to engage with the State to better facilitate this assistance. Only the Governor can request Federal disaster assistance through FEMA, but disaster-impacted local governments can support this request in several ways. For more information see, FEMA’s How a Disaster Gets Declared. In consultation with the State OEM Director, the Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Public Safety (CDPS), and/or the Governor’s staff, the Director of DHSEM will determine what the State can and will do to provide response and recovery support, including through the deployment of the Colorado National Guard. If assistance is provided, your community will need to work directly with the State, which then works with the Federal Government.
When?
During the initial days of the disaster event. (Days 1-30)

How does my community do this?

Transmit the local disaster or emergency declaration to the Colorado DHSEM by calling the State Emergency Operations Line (303-279-8855). State and Federal disaster assistance is always provided in support of and at the request of the local government. As such, disaster impacted governments need to keep state and federal counterparts informed as early and accurately as possible.
Establish communications with the State EOC. Local recovery stakeholders establish and maintain communication and coordination with their relevant counterparts in the State EOC.
Request state guidance and support to ensure assessment information meets state recovery assistance information requirements. Proactively coordinating with the State before collecting assessment information or transmitting that information will help make the process more seamless. For more information, see the Colorado State Emergency Operations Plan.
Update the State EOC with new assessment information as it becomes available. Local recovery stakeholders also support state operations by participating in damage assessments, especially where recovery is concerned, and provide updates as new assessment information becomes available.

Great job! You have completed Step 1. Onwards to Step 2.

Additional Guidance for Step 1

Click on the question to expand the answer.

+ Does the size of the event matter in a local disaster declaration?

The measure of a disaster is not the scope or scale of consequences but rather whether or not day-to-day resources and/or authorities and regulations are sufficient to meet response and recovery needs. Especially in cases where an event is larger than a typical event but perhaps smaller than what might merit Federal or even state assistance, the authorities and resources accessed through a declaration are all the more important.

+ What format should the local disaster declaration take?

Your community’s disaster declaration must be in a written format. There is no standard format for your declaration, but make sure it describes the extent of the disaster and any planning or operational assumptions with the recovery process (or whatever needs to be included in the declaration). If state support is to be requested or explored, counties can work in coordination with DHSEM to draft the declaration, and communities can work with their County government. Click here for an example template.

+ How is a disaster declared by the State, and what does it mean?

The Colorado Disaster Emergency Act, C.R.S. 24‐33.5‐700 gives the Governor of Colorado or their designee the authority to declare a disaster or state of emergency. Per this legislation, the Colorado DHSEM provides support to disaster-impacted municipalities and counties through the State EOC when local declarations of emergency or disaster are received. If the support of the Colorado National Guard is requested, the State EOC will work with the Governor to sign an Executive Order to provide such support.

A state declaration initiates a state of emergency for up to 30 days unless renewed by the Governor. Requests for assistance are received by the Colorado DHSEM. DHSEM provides resource and financial help as is available and assists the impacted local jurisdictions by determining whether Federal assistance is needed (and if so, what form of assistance). DHSEM will work with FEMA and the Small Business Administration if Federal assistance programs are authorized to ensure coordination with state-provided support.

+ What short-term recovery activities are commonly performed by RSF partners in the EOC?

Response and recovery often occur in tandem and therefore begin in the EOC long before a dedicated recovery committee or organization can begin operations. Examples of short-term recovery activities commonly performed in the EOC include: Engaging with and initiating case management for survivors who will need long-term recovery assistance, often during the process of providing mass care (e.g., emergency sheltering, food, water, cleanup supplies, etc.).

Providing access and functional needs (AFN) support services. Conducting sector-specific damage and needs assessments (businesses, homes, medical impacts, infrastructure, debris). Prioritizing the temporary resumption of critical infrastructure, and identifying longer-term repair and reconstruction needs. Debris clearance, removal, and disposal (including the identification, assessment, and selection of debris disposal sites).

Communication with the public about recovery support, including enabling the reporting of damages and needs and to register for recovery assistance.
Initiation of mental health services for those impacted by the disaster.
Registration, vetting, and assignment of spontaneous, unaffiliated volunteers.
Acceptance, processing, and distribution of financial and in-kind donations.
Recovery support for pets, companion animals, and livestock.
Activation, staffing, and management of Disaster Assistance Centers to provide a single location for people needing information and assistance.

+ What are some tips for conducting an effective Rapid Needs Assessment (RNA)?

The focus of an RNA is on ensuring emergency management can dedicate constrained local resources in a way that they have the greatest impact. Although life safety is prioritized, there are recovery implications to this data. Standard forms are not required but informing assessors of information needs can help them to remember to look for those during their efforts.
Ensure that assessment teams describe, in general terms, the overall magnitude of damage, the scale of populations at risk (fatalities, injuries, and displacement), and the impacts on critical facilities and infrastructure. Though it will not likely support project development, it supports the need for activation of the Recovery ESF or the Recovery Framework.

+ What are some tips for conducting an effective Initial Damage Assessment (IDA)?

Proactively develop IDA data collection and analysis methods.
Rapid Needs Assessment (RNA) outcomes will help prioritize IDA efforts, including in the identification of recovery needs. Keep in mind that IDA information not only supports decision-making, it is also required for recovery support under state and Federal declaration guidelines.
When possible, simultaneously conduct damage and safety inspections of critical facilities to maximize resources.
Ensure that the public can report damages and needs in a standard way that accommodates access and communication challenges as this will inform the scope of recovery planning needs, including requests for Individual Assistance from the State and FEMA.
Include community organizations wherever possible.
Ensure that all departments and agencies are maintaining accurate records, taking pictures of damages, and providing status updates regularly, including a log of all staff and volunteer efforts that are dedicated to disaster response and recovery efforts.
Monitoring social media and maintaining contact with the local dispatch center can help prioritize where to send IDA teams.

+ What are some tips for conducting an effective Joint Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA)?

Be sure to coordinate and collaborate with DHSEM.
Refer to FEMA documentation to understand recovery support damage thresholds.
Ensure that Recovery RSF and any long-term recovery staff or stakeholders that have been identified at this early stage are informed of, and ideally, involved in the PDA effort.
Utilize a geographic information system (GIS) to plot identified recovery needs.
Coordinate with state and local Volunteer Organizations Active in Disasters (VOADs) and other non-disaster NGOs with recovery relevance to best capture damages, losses, and needs that have relevance to long-term recovery.

+ What are some tips for conducting an effective Recovery Assessment?

Recovery assessments should support the transition of recovery operations from the EOC to the community recovery organization.
Recovery assessments focus on unmet needs.
Recovery assessment protocols should include representatives from the various government departments and community organizations who will be working to address long-term recovery needs.
If a recovery framework is in place, the recovery assessment should be structured to inform the efforts of the activated RSFs.

+ What does the membership of a damage assessment team typically look like?

Disaster damage and needs assessment teams are primarily staffed by local government officials and members of affiliated non-profit organizations like the American Red Cross. It may be necessary to include personnel from the NGO or private sector with needed expertise, such as in engineering, construction, property evaluation, and related fields, to increase capacity to meet needs. A team will commonly include the following officials:

Local emergency response agency (fire, police, EMS) staff
Local Building Department
Assessor’s Office
Public Works
Floodplain Management
Engineering Department
Public and private utilities
American Red Cross
Faith-based organizations
Insurance agencies
State and Federal representatives

+ What is the role of the State relative to local or county disaster declarations?

The Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM) has the following responsibilities:

Accept the local disaster declaration and provide assistance as available to local governments through resource support and financial assistance.
Determine if federal assistance is required, and if so, which programs.
Develop a request letter for the Governor’s signature and compile data to support the request for federal assistance.
Assist the Governor in selecting key officials who will facilitate state support of impacted local jurisdictions, namely the State Coordinating Officer and the Governor’s Authorized Representative.
Coordinate with FEMA for the administration of disaster assistance programs and with support from other state agencies.
Inform support agencies and local officials of request for and approval/denial of Federal assistance.
Coordinate public information activities related to the request for Federal assistance.
Work with FEMA to manage recovery programs.
Provide technical support and assistance to applicants.
Ensure that potential applicants are educated about the eligible assistance programs and are aware that the assistance is available.

The Colorado Governor’s Office has the following responsibilities:

Accept the local Emergency or disaster declaration from DHSEM with their recommendation for state assistance.
Determine need for a State Declaration of Disaster.
Sign an Executive Order declaring an emergency or disaster for the State of Colorado and send the request to FEMA for Federal declaration consideration.
Appoint the State Coordinating Officer to act in cooperation with the Federal Coordinating Officer to coordinate disaster recovery efforts for the state.
Appoint the Governor’s Authorized Representative who is empowered by the Governor to execute, on behalf of the State, all necessary documents for the disaster assistance programs.

+ What is the State Declaration Process?

When a local declaration is transmitted to the Colorado DHSEM, the following process occurs:

Colorado DHSEM staff gather information and brief the State Office of Emergency Management Director.
The State Office of Emergency Management Director, depending on time and severity of the situation, will brief the DHSEM Director, CDPS Executive Director, and/or the Governor’s staff, and determine whether or not a state declaration is warranted.
If a state of emergency is warranted, it will be issued by the governor through an executive order or proclamation (C.R.S. 24‐33.5‐700), A request for a Major Disaster Declaration is submitted to the President through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Region VIII, in Denver.
The Executive order, which may be drafted in coordination with one or more state agencies, will guide local support.
The Governor’s declaration activates state emergency management plans and programs and provides the authority for the mobilization and deployment of all resources to which the plans refer, including the Colorado National Guard.
A declared state of emergency is only good for 30 days unless the Governor renews the declaration. The declaration can be terminated by way of Executive Order or Proclamation when the Governor determines that a state of emergency no longer exists.