Preparedness refers to the actions taken to plan, organize, equip, train, and exercise to build and sustain the capabilities necessary to prevent, protect against, mitigate the effects of, respond to, and recover from those threats that pose the greatest risk to the security of your community. Preparedness is a continuous process.

Preparedness activity includes developing a comprehensive damage assessment plan and training based on the predetermined priorities identified in the risk assessment and/or vulnerability assessment. For example: If there is flooding in your community, how will this affect bridges in low lying areas? As part of your community’s preparedness, you need to determine what actions need to be taken to be prepared for this event.

Protection refers to capabilities necessary to secure critical infrastructure or key resources against acts of terrorism and manmade or natural disasters. It requires coordinated action on the part of Federal, State, and local governments, the private sector, and concerned citizens across the country.

Protection capabilities include, but are not limited to:

• Critical infrastructure protection
• Defense against WMD threats
• Defense of agriculture and food
• Protection of key leadership and events
• Border security
• Maritime security
• Transportation security
• Immigration security
• Cybersecurity

Protection is an elevation of awareness and understanding of threats and vulnerabilities to your community’s critical infrastructure and key resources.

Damage assessment planning contributes to the protection of the community and its assets, particularly through effective coordination among multiple agencies and jurisdictions.

Prevention refers to those capabilities necessary to avoid, prevent, or stop a threatened or actual act of terrorism. Prevention capabilities include, but are not limited to:

• Information sharing and warning
• Domestic counterterrorism
• Preventing the acquisition or use of weapons of mass destruction (WMD)

An example of prevention activity that the damage assessment planning team will be involved in is identifying vulnerabilities in the community, such as an unsecured water treatment facility.

Mitigation refers to those capabilities necessary to reduce loss of life and property by lessening the impact of disasters. Mitigation capabilities include, but are not limited to:

• Community-wide risk reduction projects
• Efforts to improve the resilience of critical infrastructure and key resource lifelines
• Risk reduction for specific vulnerabilities from natural hazards or acts of terrorism
• Initiatives to reduce future risks after a disaster has occurred

Although you should continually be evaluating ways to make your community more disaster-resistant, the period after a hazard event provides opportunities for mitigation actions to be implemented. Funding may become available, and it may be easier during this time to get buy-in from decision-makers to conduct mitigation activities.

The damage assessment response team can identify opportunities for mitigation following a hazard event. When you’re conducting damage assessment, consider what your community can do to make vulnerable critical infrastructure and key resources more damage-resistant. For example, power lines can be buried or the height of bridges can be raised.

Response refers to those capabilities necessary to save lives, protect property and the environment, and meet basic human needs after an incident has occurred.

Generally speaking, effective planning (including practice through training and exercise) leads to an effective response.

Throughout the response activity, even after the initial damage assessment, additional damages can continue to be identified, the value of damages can still be determined, and mitigation opportunities can be identified. Keep in mind that some response activity continues as recovery begins.

Recovery refers to those capabilities necessary to assist communities affected by an incident to recover effectively, including, but not limited to:

• Rebuilding infrastructure systems;
• Providing adequate interim and long-term housing for survivors;
• Restoring health, social, and community services;
• Promoting economic development;
• Restoring natural and cultural resources.

The community actually begins the recovery process simultaneously with response efforts. In addition, the ongoing activities of preparedness, protection, prevention, and mitigation also occur during the recovery period. Keep in mind that this can be an ideal time to identify mitigation opportunities because of grant funding that can become available following a hazard event.

During recovery activities, evaluate repairs and reconstruction. Then update plans based on improvements to infrastructure or other facilities.