State Disaster Recovery
Planning Guide
September 2012
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Coastal Hazards Center of Excellence
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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State Disaster Recovery Planning Guide
September 2012
Gavin Smith, Ph.D Associate Research Professor
Department of City and Regional Planning
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Executive Director
Center for the Study of Natural Hazards and Disasters
Department of Homeland Security
Coastal Hazards Center of Excellence
Dylan Sandler, MRP Research Associate
Center for the Study of Natural Hazards and Disasters
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Department of Homeland Security
Coastal Hazards Center of Excellence
For more information about the Coastal Hazards Center, visit www.coastalhazardscenter.org
The Coastal Hazards Center is housed within the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Center for
the Study of Natural Hazards and Disasters. For more information, visit www.hazardscenter.unc.edu
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:
This material is based upon work supported by the Coastal Hazards Center of Excellence, a US
Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Center of Excellence under Award Number:
2008-ST-061-ND 0001.
DISCLAIMER:
The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be
interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the US
Department of Homeland Security.
http://www.coastalhazardscenter.org/
http://www.hazardscenter.unc.edu/
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE .................................................................................................................... 6
WHAT IS DISASTER RECOVERY? ................................................................................................................ 7
The Disaster Recovery Process ............................................................................................................. 8
WHY PLAN FOR DISASTER RECOVERY? ................................................................................................... 10
Disaster Resilience .............................................................................................................................. 12
The Timing of Assistance ..................................................................................................................... 13
Disaster Recovery Assistance Network ............................................................................................... 14
THE ROLE OF THE STATE IN DISASTER RECOVERY ...................................................................................... 18
THE STATE DISASTER RECOVERY PLANNING PROCESS ............................................................................... 24
STATE DISASTER RECOVERY COMMITTEE ............................................................................................... 25
THE PURPOSE OF THE RECOVERY COMMITTEE ...................................................................................... 28
WRITING THE STATE RECOVERY PLAN ........................................................................................................ 29
INTERNAL PLAN QUALITY PRINCIPLES .................................................................................................... 30
EXTERNAL PLAN QUALITY PRINCIPLES .................................................................................................... 37
STATE DISASTER RECOVERY POLICIES ......................................................................................................... 40
ORGANIZATIONAL ISSUES ....................................................................................................................... 40
Leadership ........................................................................................................................................... 41
Inter-organizational Coordination ...................................................................................................... 41
Communication ................................................................................................................................... 42
Financial Management........................................................................................................................ 42
State Personnel and Network Staffing ................................................................................................ 47
Disaster Recovery Operations ............................................................................................................. 49
State Capacity Building Initiatives ....................................................................................................... 51
Resolving Disaster Recovery Disputes ................................................................................................ 55
Legal Issues, Laws, and Authorities ..................................................................................................... 58
Collection, Analysis, and Archiving of Post-Disaster Data .................................................................. 58
Linking the State Disaster Recovery Plan to Federal Guidance .......................................................... 61
Linking the State Disaster Recovery Plan to Other State Planning Guidance ..................................... 63
TOPICAL ISSUES ....................................................................................................................................... 64
Housing ............................................................................................................................................... 64
Infrastructure ...................................................................................................................................... 66
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Debris Management ........................................................................................................................... 66
Critical Public Facilities ........................................................................................................................ 67
Reconstruction .................................................................................................................................... 67
Hazard Mitigation ............................................................................................................................... 67
Social Services ..................................................................................................................................... 70
Economic Development ...................................................................................................................... 71
Environment........................................................................................................................................ 72
CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................................................................. 73
INDEX .......................................................................................................................................................... 75
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................................ 78
APPENDIX: STATE DISASTER RECOVERY PLAN OUTLINE ............................................................................. 84
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Table of Figures
Figure 1: The State and its Connectivity to Federal and Local Recovery Planning ......................... 7
Figure 2: The Disaster Recovery Process ........................................................................................ 8
Figure 3: Insured Disaster Losses in the United States 1980 - 2011. ............................................ 10
Figure 4: State Disaster Recovery Committee .............................................................................. 25
Figure 5: Proposed State Recovery Committee Membership ...................................................... 26
Figure 6: Plan Quality Principles ................................................................................................... 29
Figure 7: Disaster Recovery Planning Hierarchy ........................................................................... 31
Figure 8: Recovery Support Functions .......................................................................................... 62
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INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE
This document is written for those tasked with the development, maintenance, and
implementation of a state disaster recovery plan.i It is intended to serve as an evaluative
guidebook from which users can draw from widely accepted steps derived from planning
processes and informative best practices adopted in other states. The Guide also includes a
series of questions following each major section of the document that
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