In April 2021, the Centralina Economic Development District and Centralina Regional Council, in collaboration with nine county emergency management (EM) directors, launched the Regional Resilience Collaborative (RRC) to enhance the region’s disaster recovery and economic resilience. The RRC aimed for greater efficiency in responding to both natural and man-made disasters and economic challenges. The strategic conversations with EM leaders, coupled with research on the regional landscape, and an extensive review of existing emergency plans identified a significant gap in recovery plans and processes. Centralina assisted all nine counties with overcoming gaps in community recovery planning needs and bolstering the knowledge, administrative protocols and relationships required between EM and local government leaders. Specifically, Centralina Regional Council allocated resources to develop Anson County’s Pre-Disaster Recovery Plan, a resiliency planning document that assigns roles and responsibilities during a disaster.
A Pre-Disaster Recovery Plan (PDRP) is a functional document that informs how local government units will organize their recovery efforts, who will lead various aspects of recovery and the responsibilities of those involved. A PDRP serves as a framework for recovery operations that acknowledges that recovery strategies are dependent upon the unique needs of each disaster. Each PDRP contains annexes or appendices that address specific focus or functional areas. These areas are critical for holistic community recovery and are based on FEMA’s Community Lifelines. There are six recovery committee annexes:
- Community Planning and Development
- Economic Recovery
- Health and Social Services
- Housing
- Infrastructure
- Natural and Cultural Resources
Over the last fiscal year, Centralina Regional Council supported Anson County in hosting eight total meetings: one to kick off the project, a meeting with each of the six recovery annex committees and a closeout meeting. In May, Anson County representatives officially signed the PDRP into action. In doing so, Anson County established the relationships needed to support recovery efforts, defined roles and responsibilities of recovery partners, supported all levels of government to coordinate recovery operations, facilitated public-private partnerships in support of recovery efforts and will reduce the amount of time needed for the community to recover.
The Centralina region is susceptible to a wide range of natural and man-made hazards with cascading impacts across the globe. The region supports many economic industries across the United States and is growing at a rapid rate. Due to these factors, we must ensure planning efforts support consideration of what happens after a disaster. PDRPs are crucial for enhancing recovery efforts by assessing current and future economic recovery needs in the region. Effective long-term disaster recovery requires local governments to integrate recovery management protocols into their routine operations, especially within finance departments, to ensure that incurred response and recovery costs comply with federal and state reimbursement requirements. Emergency management departments in small towns and rural areas often lack the capacity to fully prepare their communities for resilience against future disasters. The development of disaster plans, such as a PDRP, is a critical first step in building recovery capacity through collaboration and communication throughout local governments.
The RRC exemplifies a scalable and replicable model, demonstrating how councils of governments can serve as vital and trusted partners in economic recovery and resilience efforts. More information about the RRC is available here. Our Regional Resilience & Recovery webpage contains many free helpful resources such as materials from all eight RRC workshops, a Resilience and Equity Hazards Assessment GIS Tool, a Pre-Disaster Recovery Plan Template and Development Guide and a Local Leader Disaster Recovery Coordination Guide. Though the RRC ended in June, Centralina Regional Council looks forward to continuing to support our region’s recovery and resiliency efforts! Stay tuned for our upcoming projects in the new fiscal year.
