SAN DIEGO–In their continuing effort to remain proactive in dealing with natural or man-made disasters, the County Board of Supervisors today unanimously approved the “Resilience and Advanced Post-Disaster Recovery Initiative.” The initiative, brought forward under the leadership of Chairman Bill Horn, is a comprehensive program that the Office of Emergency Services will put in place before a catastrophic event can happen in order to accelerate the recovery process after the event takes place.
“In the aftermath of a disaster, people need resources,” said Chairman Bill Horn. “At its most basic level, this initiative is about finding the most effective ways of getting those resources out to those who need them most. Individuals, families, communities, and the overall region have a stake in the recovery process.”
The Resilience and Advanced Post-Disaster Recovery Initiative covers four key components of recovery: helping individual citizens, restoring community lifelines, rebuilding community fabric, and readying a trained workforce to conduct recovery activities in our community.
The County will create a list of pre-qualified vendors to contract with for recovery activities, negotiate with local banks to provide mobile ATMs, and establish agreements with transit providers to move people and commodities out of harm’s way. New Local Assistance Center guidelines will be put in place, and a new database to track detailed information about resources, and store 24-hour contacts with businesses that have agreed to provide assistance in the recovery process will be created.
Additionally, the County will work to develop regional mutual aid agreements that can be established within 72 hours of a catastrophic event to assess damage, clear debris, and share resources and personnel. OES will also create new plans for the distribution of goods and services and will establish a “Lifelines Committee” to address interdependencies within our region on topics such as communication, water, power, and fuel when a disaster impacts multiple lifelines.
“Though the path to recovery begins with the individual,” Horn added, “the public deserves a government that will clear that path quickly and get out of the way.”
OES will continue to distribute the “Red Guide to Disaster Recovery” to local fire agencies, and will print and distribute a Spanish-language version, which will be funded through a Neighborhood Reinvestment Grant recommended by Chairman Horn.
