Discussion Thread: Understanding Response and Recovery
My second emergency management discussion with my new boss would focus on the response
and recovery phases of emergency management and including information on the National Response
Framework and National Incident Management System. Response and Recovery are crucial phases for
minimizing additional damage from disasters. “Disaster response objectives include protecting lives,
limiting property loss, and overcoming the disruptions that disasters cause. The response phase of
disaster is often the most dramatic, visually stunning, and newsworthy phase of the disaster cycle
(Sylves, 2019).” The recovery phase is comprised of instance support after a disaster occurs and
continues until the effected community goes back to normal. “Recovery is the most expensive phase of
the disaster cycle. It involves restoration, rebuilding, and return to normalcy. The pool of players involved
in recovery is huge and far exceeds the number of players usually involved in disaster response. Late
stages of disaster recovery may involve only small numbers of emergency managers but vast numbers of
officials working in functional, financial, and regulatory agencies. Decisions regarding disaster recovery
are fundamentally made at the local level of government (Sylves, 2019).” Effectively responding to
disasters requires resiliency on behalf of emergency managers, teams, and the community to overcome
challenges and setbacks while rebuilding the community. Emergency managers can best develop
resiliency by recognizing and planning for risks as well as anticipating or planning for financial loss.
Redundancy requires emergency managers to have back up plans for every strategy. If one strategy fails,
another one can replace so the recovery phase is not drawn out longer. The response and recovery
phases are the ultimate test of the training and budgeting done previously by emergency managers. New
training plans and budgeting adjustments can be made by identifying what went wrong and making
corrections for the next time.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recognizes the importance of response and
recovery and how poor execution and management in these phases can make disasters much worse.
Disaster Management failures like after Hurricane Katrina exposed weaknesses in natural disaster
management and showed where FEMA needed to make improvements. “The turmoil and anguish
caused by the event is burdensome enough. When government fails to respond or does so in an
unprofessional way, it simply adds to the pain and suffering of the general public. Nothing could have
seared the national psyche more than the glaring ineptitude of state, local, and federal officials in the
matter of Katrina (Nemeth, 2016).” The response and recovery failures of Katrina paved the way for the
National Response Framework and National Incident Management System to put measures into place so
that responses can go much smoother after future incidents.
The National Response Framework is doctrine for strategic Emergency Management that can used
by all communities or stakeholders and unifies efforts between the federal government and the private
sector. The core of the National Response Framework prioritizes stabilizing community lifelines that
allow a community to function. Some of the lifelines are food and water, security, health medical,
transportation, and communications. “The lifelines are designed to enable emergency managers,
infrastructure owners and operators, and other partners to analyze the root cause of an incident impact
and then prioritize and deploy resources to effectively stabilize the lifeline (FEMA, 2019).” The National
Framework also promotes its adaptability, unity of effort, and readiness to act.
The National Incident Management System which is also usable by stakeholders at all levels and
specializes in resource management, managing information, and coordination. NIMS also uses the
Incident Command System to handle incidents on scene. “NIMS guides all levels of government,
nongovernmental organizations (NGO), and the private sector to work together to prevent, protect
against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from incidents. NIMS provides stakeholders across the whole
community with the shared vocabulary, systems, and processes to successfully deliver the capabilities
described in the National Preparedness System (Nemeth, 2017).”
Scripture gives us spiritual strength and endurance during times of distress. The Bible has many
themes and messages including love, peace, faith, endurance, and courage. Just as the Bible tells us to
fight the good fight of faith and never give up, emergency managers need endurance to finish response
and recovery. “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not
be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go (English Standard Version Bible, 2001,
Joshua. 1:9).”
References
English Standard Version Bible. (2001). https://www.openbible.info/topics/
Federal Emergency Management Agency. (2019, October 28). National Response Framework.
https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020-
04/NRF_FINALApproved_2011028.pdf
Federal Emergency Management Agency. (2017, October). National Incident Management System.
https://www.fema.gov/sites/default/files/2020- 07/fema_nims_doctrine-2017.pdf
Nemeth, C.P. P. (2016). Homeland Security (3rd Edition). Taylor & Francis.
https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9781498749121
