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Writer's picturePeter Walker

Stages of disaster recovery: long-term emergency response

Different disasters can hit people and each one of them needs to be evaluated carefully to reduce their impact. Recovering from disasters and their effects will take some time. A strategic response plan helps identify and help the weak and most affected ones. Many different phases start unfolding once the society starts recovering and rebuilding lives after disasters.


These are the stages of a disaster that fast response disaster recovery specialists guide people through.


1.   Search and rescue


The initial search activity takes a lot of time. In some severe disaster cases, these activities go one for days. The immediate step after a disaster needs to be rapid to save precious lives


2.   Emergency help.


The emergency phase begins immediately after a catastrophic event to meet basic needs and keep people alive. People need food, water, shelter, and medicine. After an initial assessment of the situation and needs of the affected communities, fast response disaster recovery specialists work alongside partners and support the churches already there. Emergency help can take a long time or end fairly quickly. The availability of resources is a prime concern when it comes to handling emergencies quickly


3.   Early recovery.


In some cases, recovery can go on for months, days or even years. The initial access to emergency resources, equipment, adaptability, state of mind, physical trauma, etc. influence the timelines of recovery in different people





4.   Recovery in the medium and long term.


Construction of physical structures, buildings, tents, trailers, homes, etc are a part of the medium to long-term recovery. The strength and unity of the community is put to test during the repairing and building of permanent housing structures


5.   Community development.


Community development is a major part of different disaster recovery projects. They aim at building strong communities even in places where a disaster has not occurred. The recovery systems can further be used to improve people’s lives and their living environment beyond disaster recovery.

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