County Partnership-Fairfax County, Virginia Summary Fairfax County Virginia's Office of Emergency Management has developed a partnership with several organizations to develop a Pre-Disaster Recovery Plan. Sectors include local nonprofits, businesses, boards, authorities, and commissions, jurisdictional neighbors, regional, state, and federal. Background Fairfax County is susceptible to a variety of natural hazards, including floods, hurricanes and tornadoes, as well as man-made hazards such as terrorist acts and accidental releases of hazards materials. Some of these events have the capacity for catastrophic local and regional impacts. Following a major disaster, complex issues with impacts far beyond county government will arise. The local economy may falter due to supply chain disruptions, infrastructure failures, business closures or inaccessible work places. There will likely be population displacement, housing shortages and rebuilding issues, and potential social and psychological impacts. The purpose of the Pre-Disaster Recovery Plan is to provide Fairfax County with a single reference for guiding policy and action during recovery from a significant natural or human caused disaster. The plan will allow the government to better support the private and nonprofit sectors as we work together to restore the economic base, neighbors, social fabric, and other community elements over the long-term. Because public and private sector partnerships are vital to the success of disaster recovery, the Office of Emergency Management id reaching out to county boards, authorities and commissions, nonprofit organizations, private business, as well as our federal and state partners, asking that they participate in this planning process. Please see Pre-Disaster Recovery Plan below for more information. Goals and Objectives Fairfax County is committed to ensuring not only that stakeholder interests are considered throughout the Pre-Disaster Recovery Planning process, but that our non­profit and private sector partners help drive and define the outcomes Description We have three levels of participation for the project, a core Steering Committee, a Working Group, and Plan reviewers. Each of the participating stakeholders falls into one or all of these groups. The Steering Committee will meet monthly and directly contribute to the development of the Plan. It will help define the overall direction and structure of the Pre-Disaster Recover Plan, participate in reviews of rough and/or preliminary County Partnership-Fairfax County, Virginia dreft materials, and narrow proposed best-practice out comes to those which are a realistic fit for local conditions in Fairfax County. The Working Group will meet several times throughout the course of development of the Pre-Disaster Recovery Plan, in settings which will be open to the public (except in cases of sensitive subject matter). They Working Group will refine, vet, and validate the preliminary work of the Steering Committee, applying both technical expertise and the preliminary work of the Steering Committee, applying both technical expertise and local knowledge to arrive at workable and realistic fit solutions to challenging problems. Plan Reviewers will be invited to provide comments, edits, revisions, and questions to the Draft Pre-Disaster Recovery Plan. The Draft Plan will also be made generally available for public comment via libraries, Internst, etc. Input from the Plan Reviewers will be addressed in detail by the Steering Committee and the Working Group. See PDRP Stakeholder Memo below Requirements for Success Coordination, communication, dedicated staff, and a stakeholder sense of validation. Resources Fairfax County Virginia's Office of Emergency Management has the following resources available through its partnership resources to help prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters; web resources; and participation on the Steering Committee and Working Group Training and Exercises Fairfax County Virginia's Office of Emergency Management hosts and participates in joint training and exercises with the public and private sectors. Communication Tools Fairfax County Virginia's Office of Emergency Management uses the following methods of communication with their public/private partners: email alerts; in-person meetings; conferences; newsletters; website; facebook and twitter. Links www.fairfaxcounty.gov/oem/pdrp County Partnership-Fairfax County, Virginia Contact Information Amanda Phan, Emergency Management Specialist (Planner) Amanda.Phan@fairfaxcounty.gov 571-350-1010 DISCLAIMER FEMA’s Private Sector Division of the Office of External Affairs facilitates information sharing and good practices for developing effective public-private partnerships. This Web site and its contents are provided for informational purposes only, without warranty or guarantee of any kind, and do not represent the official positions of the US Department of Homeland Security. For more information on the Private Sector Division, please email FEMA-private­sector@dhs.gov or visit www.FEMA.gov/privatesector Fairfax County is committed to ensuring that stakeholder interests are considered throughout the Pre-Disaster Recovery Planning process and that our nonprofit and private sector partners help drive and define the outcomes. Pre-Disaster Recovery Planning Workshop For Community Partners Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2010 6-8 p.m. Learn more about disaster recovery and how you can assist in the development of the Fairfax County Pre-Disaster Recovery Plan. Pre-register at: www.fairfaxcounty.gov/oem/ pdrp (Register early, space is limited) Workshop Location: McConnell Public Safety and Transportation Operations Center, 4890 Alliance Dr. Fairfax, Va. 22030 (This is a secure facility, must be registered and have a valid form of ID to participate) For questions or comments, contact Amanda Phan, 571-350-1010, TTY 711; oempdrp@fairfaxcounty.gov. Fairfax County Office of Emergency Management Pre-Disaster Recovery Planning (PDRP) What is Pre-Disaster Recovery Planning? Fairfax County is susceptible to both natural (floods, hurricanes and tornadoes) and man-made hazards (terrorist acts and acci­dental releases of hazardous materials). Some of these events have the capacity for catastrophic local and regional impacts. Community Disaster Recovery Issues .. Faltering Economy due to supply-chain disruptions .. Infrastructure failures .. Business closures and/or inaccessible work-places .. Rebuilding Issues .. Population displacement .. Housing shortages .. Social and psychological impacts The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that over 40 percent of businesses never reopen following a disaster. Of the remaining companies, at least 25 percent will close within 2 years. The As­sociation of Records Managers and Administrators reports that over 60 percent of businesses confronted by a major disaster close by two years. Offer Your Insight While the effects of disasters are wide ranging and cannot be pre­dicted, pre-event planning can position Fairfax County to recover from a major incident. Methodical, thoughtful pre-event planning can establish priorities, decision-making structures and procedures, and recovery goals. These can focus and accelerate the recovery process during the stressful and often fraught post-disaster period. To learn more go to www.fairfaxcounty.gov/oem/pdrp. A Fairfax County, Va. publication. August 2010.