Regional Resilience & Recovery
Over the past five years, North Carolina has experienced several major natural disasters, including several overlapping events, which are becoming more and more prevalent. As we face both natural and manmade disruptions, our communities’ health, safety and economic stability are at risk, and our residents are impacted in deeply personal ways. To move our communities forward and take advantage of the strengths of government and non-government partners, Centralina created a two-phase approach to support the region in bolstering disaster recovery and resiliency.
1) Centralina Regional Resilience Collaborative: Implementation of specific disaster recovery and resiliency capacity building and planning activities.
2) FEMA Public Assistance Program: Development of disaster recovery financial administration training and deployment.
The Centralina Economic Development District (EDD) recognized the need for a whole-of-government approach and applied for a U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) Disaster Relief Coordinator Grant. The Centralina EDD was awarded funding in March 2020, initiating phase I of Centralina’s regional resilience and recovery efforts.
As a supplement to phase I’s EDA Disaster Relief Coordinator funds, phase II was initiated in July 2022 when the North Carolina Association of Regional Councils of Governments (NCARCOG) received a state appropriation to support local governments in effectively managing and building capacity for local and regional disaster recovery, mitigation and resiliency efforts. NCARCOG administered these funds to all 16 regional councils / council of governments across the state to develop and deliver a comprehensive financial administration training program for local governments to bolster successful and efficient administration of recovery funding.
Phase I: Regional Resilience Collaborative
The Centralina EDD partnered with Centralina Regional Council and our nine-county emergency management directors to launch the Regional Resilience Collaborative (RRC), a project that assesses the viability and resiliency of emergency management plans and coordinate resources so the region can pursue greater efficiency in responding to current and future natural and man-made disasters. The Centralina team works directly with county emergency management managers across our nine-county region to build upon existing county and city-level emergency plans through a series of plan evaluations, assessments, focus groups and workshops.
Objectives
- Investigate the landscape of local resources and capabilities
- Document local strengths and opportunities
- Support coordination for regional recovery strategies
- Bolster the capacity of community economic resilience
- Create a tangible and relevant recovery
Project Outcomes
Centralina supports the development of pre-disaster recovery plans and recovery function/committee annexes. Tools, such as the Disaster Plan Development Guide, Pre-Disaster Recovery Plan Templates and the Centralina Regional Resilience GIS web app, which maps hazards and conditions throughout the region, are available below to support in facilitation. During this process, local leaders are encouraged to prioritize recovery planning, encourage all departments to support, identify additional stakeholders and understand legal authorities.
Deliverables: Templates, Guides & Recordings
- Pre-Disaster Recovery Plan Template
- Pre-Disaster Recovery Plan Development Guide
- Local Leader Disaster Recovery Coordination Guide
- Pre-Disaster Recovery Plan Workshop Series Recordings, PowerPoints and Notes
- Regional Resilience Roadmap Metrics to assess local resilience capacity conditions
Resilience and Equity Hazards Assessment Tool
This tool can be used to support pre-disaster and post-disaster planning and customized for your community.
Pre-Disaster Planning
- Establish an overall approach to whole community recovery
- Determine vulnerable assets and population areas
- Clarify community recovery planning needs and approaches
Post-Disaster Planning
- Identify specific recovery projects and mitigation strategies
- Assess impacts from disasters and economic shocks
- Evaluate whole community recovery needs
Resilience and Equity Hazards Assessment Tool Tutorial
This video provides an overview of the Resilience and Equity Hazards Assessment Tool and its special features. Specifically, it:
- Offers a quick start for using the app to identify long-term recovery resilience and equity planning features.
- Describes how information can be exported to assist with local long-term recovery planning documentation.
- Provides helpful hints for navigating throughout the tool’s features and exporting components.
Phase II: Disaster Recovery Financial Administration Training
To help member government respond and recover from natural disasters, Centralina partnered with the North Carolina Association of Regional Councils of Government to administer this program in our region. The resources, found on the member portal, focus on preparing local governments for significant disaster emergency events to reduce recovery time and increase response rates while recouping valuable resources that may be expended in response to such events. Specifically, the training covers how to:
- Secure disaster recovery funds to ensure local governments address local and regional priorities
- Build and maintain necessary financial systems and staff support to administer and efficiently report disaster recovery funds utilization
- Incorporate recovery staffing and business practices into day-to-day financial administration operation.
For more information about the Disaster Recovery Financial Administration training or to get assistance with the member portal, please contact Lenessa Hawkins at lhawkins@centralina.org.