Julie Stimson, Sedgwick County emergency management director, will speak on “Disaster Recovery: The forgotten phases of disaster” as part of the Disaster Resilience Analytics Center’s seminar series from noon to 1 p.m. Nov. 8 via Zoom.
The disaster occurred, the initial response is done, and all of the news cameras moved on to other stories of interest. A wide range of behind-the-scenes work is still done in the days, weeks, months, and even years following a major disaster. Recovery efforts focus on how to best restore, redevelop, and revitalize the health, social, economic, natural, and environmental footprints of a community. The National Disaster Recovery Framework provides context on how the whole community works together to get back on its feet and rebuild stronger, smarter, and safer, the challenge is that not many community leaders nor the public are aware of what recovery looks like. The recovery phase of disasters rarely captures the attention it deserves. It is in the recovery phase that communities can maximize risk mitigation efforts and truly build resilience for future events.