2018-04-10 S&O Agenda - Attachment 1 to Item 4 - Local Disaster Recovery Subplan

5. Recovery Operations
Community members are often the first responders during a disaster and take actions to save
and protect themselves, their families, their communities and their property. In the majority of
disasters, disaster-affected communities and local governments commence recovery processes
while response operations are being conducted. The triggers and timings to tailor planned
recovery operations for a specific event will vary between disasters.


5.1      Disaster effects and reactions of communities
The reactions of individuals and the community to a disaster will vary depending on the scale
and scope of the event, as well as their levels of disaster preparedness and resilience.




Typically, the community will experience the following phases of reactions to a disaster which
must be recognised and managed accordingly during recovery operations:

Pre-disaster Phase: the amount of warning a community receives and the perceived threat
varies depending on many factors, such as preparedness, resilience, social cohesion and level
of trust in disaster management arrangements and service providers.

Impact Phase: the scale and scope of the disaster influences the community’s reactions. The
larger the event and extent of personal and community loss as a result of the disaster, the greater
the psychosocial effects.

Heroic Phase: this phase is characterised by high levels of self-sacrifice by survivors and
emergency responders.

Honeymoon Phase: usually occurs in the following weeks and months and is evidenced by a
short-lived sense of optimism by the disaster survivors.




Noosa Local Disaster Recovery Subplan 2018                                                 Page 19