Emergencies disrupt communities. They may be caused by failure of essential services, technological failures, the extremes of nature, exotic diseases, acts of violence, human action or any other event. The emergency may occur overseas, but the impact is also felt by UK residents or nationals, or the environment of the UK. The recovery phase of an emergency is entered wherever the requirement for physical, psychological and economic restoration is needed.

Recovery is a co-ordinated process of supporting affected communities in the reconstruction of the physical infrastructure and restoration of emotional, social, economic and physical well-being. Recovery is, however, more complex than simply the replacement of what has been destroyed and the rehabilitation of those affected. It is a complex social and developmental process rather than just a remedial process. The manner in which recovery processes are undertaken is critical to their success. Recovery is best achieved when the affected community is able to exercise a high degree of self-determination.

Recovery can be defined as:

Recovery – The process of rebuilding, restoring and rehabilitating the community following an emergency (Emergency Response and Recovery Guidance, HM Government)

It is separate from, but will usually overlap with, the Response phase, which can be defined as:

Response – The actions taken to deal with the immediate effects of an emergency

Note: If the emergency occurs overseas, there may be a need for recovery even if there was no real ‘response’ phase.

Local communities may also look upon an emergency as an opportunity to regenerate an area. Again, this regeneration phase may overlap with the recovery phase, with regeneration being defined as:

Regeneration – Is about transformation and revitalisation - both visual and psychological. This transformation can be physical, social and economic, achieved through building new homes or commercial buildings, raising aspirations, improving skills and improving the environment whilst introducing new people and dynamism to an area.

Recovery Phases

In many scenarios, the response phase to an emergency can be relatively short in contrast to the recovery phase. Recovery usually takes years rather than months to complete as it seeks to address the enduring human, physical, environmental, and economic consequences of emergencies.

The graph below shows the activity of certain category one responders over time in a typical emergency. The arrows show the relative length of time response and recovery phases may last.

The recovery phase continues until the disruption has been rectified, demands on services have returned to normal levels, and the needs of those affected (directly or indirectly) have been met.

The contents of the recovery plan, includes;

• The purpose and principles of Recovery
• Activation of the Strategic Recovery Co-ordination Group (SRCG)
• Recovery Strategy
• Location and Operation of the Recovery Co-ordination Group (RCG)
• Handover from Response to Recovery
• Impacts of emergencies
• Stand down of the RCG
• Debrief and evaluation of the initial recovery phase