DISCUSSION 5
Response and recovery are often matters of life and death. Preplanning is
part of response and recovery. Your boss loved the work you did in
the Discussion Thread: Understanding Mitigation and Preparedness.
You have just been appointed the new emergency manager for your agency.
Before you, no one did anything in this area. Your boss calls you back in and
wants to know where to start and what to do regarding these functional
areas. (He or she is concerned with the agency itself, not so much the
community or customers you serve at this point.)
Tell us what you would tell your boss and how you would go about this task.
Be specific and detailed.
Your boss is going to move forward based on what you tell him or her. This
includes many things, such as response, recovery, and all of their sub-
components, such as but not limited to redundancy, resiliency, continuity of
operations planning, training, equipping, budgeting, etc. You only get one
chance to get it right with your boss to start all of this off correctly. Be
detailed. (For this post, you do not need to cover mitigation or preparedness
functions again.) What does the Bible say about response and recovery?
Agency Emergency Management Recommendations
In previous Discussion Thread: Understanding Mitigation and Preparedness, I detailed
the recommendations, and the actions to take when establishing an emergency management
program for the agency in relation to the Prevention, Mitigation, and Preparedness functions. In
this thread, I will discuss implementation recommendations for the Response and Recovery
functions of emergency management. The focus area is incidents affecting the agency itself, not
the community or customers.
Response
The response function includes “capabilities necessary to save lives, protect property and
the environment, and meet basic human needs after an incident has occurred” (Federal
Emergency Management Agency, n.d.). Response activities often occur immediately after an
incident, but they can also begin shortly prior to an expected incident. (Federal Emergency
Management Agency, n.d.).
In planning response activities for an incident at my agency, I would advocate for the
following: Establish a protocol for activating emergency systems to notify staff, first responder
organizations, and security organizations before imminent disaster/hazard/incident. Obtain a
memorandum of understanding with a transportation contractor for evacuating victims and
delivering necessary response resources. Establish an Incident Command Team to ensure unity
and coordination in response operations. Appoint staff members to direct death or casualty
management services. Designate a safe area for evacuation and triage. Keep a stockpile of food
and water to sustain the agency’s staff members for at least 72 hours per FEMA guidelines
(Federal Emergency Management Agency, 2020). Besides water and food, have a storage of
supplies like basic clothing, blankets, tents, ropes, medicine, etc. with an easy access, so that
when it comes to it fast and efficient distribution is in place (Agarwal et. al, 2022). Lastly,
communicate and cooperate with other government and private agencies in case we need more
help on deck. These initiatives all fall under the Response core capabilities, and the preliminary
targets outlined in the National Preparedness Goal (Department of Homeland Security, 2015).
For all mentioned activities to be successful, the agency needs adequate training,
equipment, and budgeting. I will conduct training at least quarterly and if there are weaknesses
discovered, we would repeat it more often until everyone is comfortable with their roles.
Recovery
The Recovery function includes actions or capabilities needed to restore functionality in
the lives of people and communities affected by an incident. Recovery activities prioritize
restoring services and resources—e.g., health, security, finances—needed to ensure a resilient
community strong enough to withstand future threats. Recovery activities should also maximize
remaining community strengths, and they should address the pre-incident weakness (Department
of Homeland Security, 2015).
Using the Recovery core capabilities outlined in the latest National Preparedness Goal
(Department of Homeland Security, 2015), I would pitch the following implementations: Work
with contractors and partners identified in the pre-incident phase to restore utilities such as
electricity, water. Coordinate with an outside agency to conduct and compile a report detailing
what went well and what failed during the response activities; these findings we would
incorporate into planning for future preparedness, mitigation, and response activities. The
documented lessons-learned in the aftermath we would use to conduct risk assessments, plan mitigation
measures, and enhance preparedness. Set a timeline for when the agency will resume full operations.
Of most importance, the agency should obtain external capabilities to provide mental health and
counseling services for staff members who may be experiencing traumatic stress disorder and
other similar ailments related to the incident.
Biblical Perspective on Response and Recovery
One of my favorite verses in the Bible reads:
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for
their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other
up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.
Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how
can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not
quickly broken. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, New International
Version)
This verse reminds me of the principle of unity in action during response activities.
Disaster or incident response can be an emotionally taxing process, especially when property and
personnel losses are involved. It is therefore important for communities and agencies to develop
partnerships with other organizations so that during times of trouble, we can maximize resources
and capabilities.
The verse that comes to mind first when talking about recovery is in Jeremiah 33:6,
“Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them and reveal to them abundance
of prosperity and security” (ESV, 2001).
References
Agarwal, S., Kant, R., & Shankar, R. (2022). Humanitarian supply chain management: modeling
the pre and post-disaster relief operations. International Journal of Disaster Resilience in
the Built Environment, 13(4), 421-439. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJDRBE-10-2020-0107
Department of Homeland Security. (2015). National Preparedness Goal (2nd ed.).
https://www.fema.gov/emergency-managers/national-preparedness/goal
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (n.d). New International Version (n.d). Www.bible.com. Retrieved October
16, 2022, from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ecclesiastes%204:9-
12&version=NIV
English Standard Version Bible. (2001). Crossway Bibles
Federal Emergency Management Agency. (2020, June 12). How to Build a Kit for Emergencies |
FEMA.gov. Www.fema.gov. https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20210318/how-build-
kit-emergencies
Federal Emergency Management Agency. (n.d.). Fundamentals of Emergency Management.
Training.fema.gov. Retrieved August 27, 2022, from
https://training.fema.gov/is/courseoverview.aspx?code=IS-230.e&lang=en
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