Recovery, Phases of

There are three general phases to recovery. The first is an overlapping initial response phase to prevent or mitigate additional life and safety hazards, and make short-term repairs to vital life-supporting infrastructure. The second phase, mid-term planning, lasts from weeks to months and performs short-term patches for important social needs that will be permanently repaired in the third phase. The long-term reconstruction phase includes rebuilding damaged infrastructure and requires extended periods of time to complete.

The goal of the recovery phases is to bring the affected area to at least its previous state of usable condition, as well as comparable economic productivity and value. It overlaps the response phase, but differs in its focus on issues and decisions that must be made after immediate emergency needs ...