Practicing Disaster Recovery

Mon. 4:00-5:30 p.m., Interlocken A

Planners, emergency managers, city managers, and other local officials need hands-on guidance about the disaster recovery process as they plan and implement strategies for effective local recovery. They get much of this guidance from consultants who have developed a recovery specialty, but they have also relied on FEMA documents and the American Planning Association's 1999 “Green Book,” Planning for Post-Disaster Recovery and Reconstruction. There is a need for newer, more nimble advice, and FEMA and APA have joined forces to develop an entirely new document. Planning for Post-Disaster Recovery: Next Generation is tapping the skills of leading recovery experts, developing Web-based tools for immediate use, and incorporating recent experience and experimentation. Key considerations will be how recovery planning fits into the larger scheme of community planning priorities, including options for pre-disaster recovery planning and for better integrating mitigation into recovery planning. Issues addressed will include financing recovery, defining and enhancing resilience, and helping the public cope with the “new normal”—to seize positive opportunities when it is clear that things will never be the same.

Kenneth Topping, Moderator
California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo

James Schwab, Panelist
American Planning Association

Allison Boyd, Panelist
CSA International

Karen Helbrecht, Panelist
FEMA

Daniel Williams, Panelist
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