Purpose
The purpose of this activity is to learn how to decommission the EOC and transition its responsibilities.
Why?
There will inevitably be some overlap between emergency operations and recovery efforts. Emergency operations centers (EOCs) are increasingly playing a role in facilitating early recovery and supporting long-term recovery efforts through the work of the Emergency Support Functions (ESFs). Emergency response and many short-term recovery operations will likely be led by the emergency management organization within the EOC. At the same time, some short-term recovery operations and nearly all of the ongoing long‐term recovery operations will be coordinated by the long-term community recovery organization and organized within the context of the community recovery plan. When the transition from response to recovery becomes complete, there needs to be a clear division of resources (especially staffing) and a way to ensure that any operations that started under one management structure are able to continue under the next. Having a transition plan in place can help to ensure that recovery progress is sustained and the recovery gains made during response are protected.
When?
All disaster incidents are different. When this transition occurs it may be a matter of days, weeks, or months. Planning for this transition should happen prior to the demobilization of the EOC. Ideally, this will have already been established during the pre-disaster recovery planning process. For more information, see the FEMA Transition Guide. (Days 31-120)
Tips
- A lack of policy to guide the transition from the response and short-term recovery (which have timelines measured in weeks or months) to long-term recovery (which has a timeline measured in years) is a common transition challenge.
- How the EOC and emergency management professionals (and elected officials who supervise these functions) communicate ‘What’s Next’ to community stakeholders can help determine how a disaster will be viewed immediately and for many years.
- Emergency management staff can help the transition by participating in the recovery visioning process.
- At the local level, ESFs may transition to Recovery Support Functions (RSFs), which have a longer duration than ESFs and are focused on more specialized tasks requiring technical expertise, such as economic redevelopment, environmental rehabilitation and housing development, and involving a wide range of stakeholders, agencies, and departments.
- To enhance coordination, community recovery efforts can align with the recovery functions. See how it is outlined in the State Emergency Operations Plan (SEOP).
- Transition plans should ensure that public information capabilities are sufficient to process and respond appropriately to queries.
How Does My Community Do This?
- Establish a transition working group. Response and recovery leaders should work together to facilitate the transition.
- Draft transition procedures and processes. Formalize the transition process using the community emergency operations plan, ensuring that any provisions are aligned with existing recovery plans or frameworks that have been developed. Establish transition policies for each ESF that have relevance to long-term recovery operations to address: information management; project oversight; budgetary, human, and other resource issues; public engagement; and others as necessary.
- Response staff will remain engaged in a recovery role following the demobilization of the EOC.
- Identify potential transition risks and/or challenges. Do your best to foresee potential challenges and find the right people to help address those challenges as this transition happens.
Community Call Out: Fairfax County, Virginia
The Fairfax County, Virginia, Pre-disaster Recovery Plan includes detailed provisions on the transition from response to long-term recovery operations. Transition is linked with activation of the recovery organization, recognizing that the process actually occurs over multiple steps requiring time and not in an instant. It also recognizes that situations will differ in each unique incident and that response and recovery stakeholders will need to work together to address the transition needs that arise. The transition procedures contained in this plan cover many issues that can be found in the Fairfax County Pre-Disaster Recovery Plan.