HLSC 600 Discussion 6
What does Recovery Really Mean?
Recovery many traditional meanings but the overall concept revolves around the process
of returning people to their pre-disaster normal life as closely as possible. According to Phillips
(2016) this means helping people who were displaced, back into permanent housing, work and
reestablishing their routines. Getting people housed is the first big step in recovery but there are
many facets involved. “Other ways to aid affected residents include food assistance,
transportation, access to employment, and security arrangements. These quality-of-life factors
may help people to resume living their lives while they wait for the Reconstruction of their
homes” (Miller & Rivera, 2010, p. 316).
Recovery can take place in both short- and long-term stages. Getting power and other
utilities restored along with relocation of residence in some form of temporary housing are short
term recovery actions. Rebuilding efforts are long term because they deal with issues such as
how, when, and where to rebuild. This is no small task since it requires the various parties and
organizations to come to a consensus on the collective vision of how normalcy will look.
Of course, recovery can also occur prior to a disaster. Think of areas prone to hurricanes,
wildfires or ice storms that know they are likely to see repeated disaster events. In these
situations, pre-disaster planning anticipates the recovery challenges by building partnerships to
handle recovery tasks (Phillips et al., 2016). On the flipside of this equation is the post disaster
recovery which involves the grueling mix of emotions and physical work. This is where the bulk
of the work is going to occur because disasters cause such mass destruction that must be dealt
with afterwards.
What are the Challenges of and for Recovery?
There are challenges posed by recovery that must be properly addressed by
emergency managers. Disasters damage homes and displace citizens so finding safe shelter and
new housing is a major recovery challenge. What makes this difficult is having adequate
availability since an entire community may be directly affected. Shelters fill up quickly and
tending to people’s basic needs will require food, water, clothing etc. Once this is established, the
next challenge is to transition people from an emergency shelter into temporary housing and
eventually to permanent housing (Phillips et al., 2016).
Another challenge is the effect downtime has on businesses and the community. While
getting people into safe housing seems obvious, they still need goods, services, and employment.
The very people trying to recover need a means to earn money, the city will need tax revenue and
the business needs to be open (Phillips et al., 2016). Getting business back open can be a big
challenge, but it is an important one that cannot be neglected.
Infrastructure is another challenge that must be addressed in the recovery process. This
can be a challenge if major disaster has destroyed roads, bridges, cellular towers, power lines and
water treatment facilities. Often recovery efforts can be made much more difficult when these
things are damaged since access and support processes become impaired (Phillips et al., 2016).
People are emotionally affected by disaster events and can have mental health issues that
make their personal recovery difficult. Post-disaster care and support may be necessary to higher
risk people within the community. This can involve not only citizens, but first responders and
emergency managers who have been directly exposed to the recovery related trauma (Phillips et
al., 2016).
The restoration of the historic and cultural resources can also pose a challenge to
emergency managers. These locations and buildings can literally define the identity of a
community and rebuilding them can be challenging. Age old structures that have been damaged
may have to be rebuilt in ways to make them withstand future disasters yet retain their defining
characteristics. There can also be environmental challenges and concerns that arise from a
disaster. Hazardous materials may pose new risks in the recovery of not only the local
community but also areas downstream where it may have drifted. Displaced animals may have to
be relocated to other habitats and injured animals may need to be treated (Phillips et al., 2016).
What does resiliency mean and how do we get there?
There are many adjectives used to describe resiliency, but in essence it is the ability to
persevere after a disaster. While these events are indeed traumatic and difficult, they present an
opportunity for people to learn how to move beyond and adapt themselves going forward. While
there is a natural period of time where people are overcome with emotions and grief, there is a
drive to survive. On a community level, resilience is an effort involving practically everyone
towards a common goal.
“The National Research Council (NRC) (2010) recognizes four principles of resiliency,
which are: identifying and creating incentives; adopting an appropriate planning perspective;
using decentralized partner-ships; and allowing for multiple levels of engagement” (National
Research Council, & Geographical Sciences Committee, 2011, p. 5). The idea of whole
community engagement is one that helps shape resilience efforts through policymaking and
planning. The promotion of a culture of resilience is important because you need to have a
community who is educated in the known risks and the preparation required to withstand future
disasters. Emergency planners improve community resiliency when the infrastructure and
essential services are improved after a disaster as well (Phillips et al., 2016).
In Deuteronomy, the Bible encourages those who have endured hardship saying, “Be
strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth
go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” (King James Bible, 1769/2017,
Deuteronomy 31:6). Despite going through a disaster, we are taught that we are not alone and to
be strong knowing that God is by our side!
References
King James Bible. (2017). King James Bible Online. https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org
(Original work published 1769)
Miller, D. S., & Rivera, J. D. (Eds.). (2010). Community disaster recovery and resiliency:
Exploring global opportunities and challenges.
National Research Council, & Geographical Sciences Committee. (2011). Building community
disaster resilience through private-public collaboration. National Academies Press.
Phillips, B. D., Neal, D. M., & Webb, G. R. (2016). Introduction to Emergency Management
(2nd Edition). Taylor & Francis.
https://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9781315394688
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