Disaster recovery is a time of tremendous pressure and work at the community level. Local officials are faced with pressure to rebuild quickly, communicate with stakeholders, resolve conflicts, seek funding from a variety of different agencies, and respond to new grant, contract, and financial requirements. However, disaster recovery is also a time of significant opportunity for communities to rebuild in a thoughtful, equitable, and resilient way.
The resources in this toolkit are geared toward helping community leaders through the long-term disaster recovery process and are intended to be useful at any phase of recovery.
Browse our "key resources," which are curated collections to help you get started, or search the full library.
Are you trying to determine how to organize or lead your community through disaster recovery?
Are you concerned about grant management, community finances, or rules about disaster funding?
Do you want to know how to make informed and strategic decisions for your recovery?
Do you want to know more about disaster recovery funding and assistance programs?
Search through the filterable library of recovery management information to quickly find tools, resources, examples and trainings that most fit your community’s needs. Click the resource's title to see all the information.
NOTICE
Resources provided are for informational purposes only and are compiled with publicly available information. Please directly consult the provider of a potential resource for current program information and to verify the applicability and requirements of a particular program. When you go to another website you are subject to its privacy policies. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies, or applications.
Briefing paper that highlights the need for manufacturers to be fully integrated in both pre and post disaster recovery plans.
American Planning Association Planning Advisory Service (PAS) report on working with planning consultants.
American Planning Association guide outlining the importance of public engagement and providing examples of effective engagement led to improved recovery outcome.
American Planning Association Briefing Paper which identifies 4 key points that explains how hazard mitigation both reduces vulnerability and increased resiliency, and describing how hazard mitigation planning offers a high return on investment.
Case study presenting a variety of mitigation and recovery strategies employed by the City of Cedar Falls, Iowa used to make their community more resilient to flooding.
Short guide outlining the importance of green infrastructure opportunities during disaster recovery.
Short guide for communities on importance of defining a long-term rebuilding vision and goals for recovery.
American Planning Association (APA) guidance, recommendations, examples, and research on measuring disaster recovery success.
Document describing affordable housing considerations that should be made when planning for recovery.
Briefing paper detailing the requirements for local and political leadership in disaster response and post-disaster recovery planning.
