Recovery after disaster

Response and recovery efforts involve businesses and residents within a community trading
services and information. Examples can include:

• Rival pharmacies from the community coming to each other’s aid and sharing suppliers and
  storefronts.
• Recruiting family and friends to assist with relocation needs and additional tasks to relieve
  employee fatigue.
• Forming new relationships with local media to raise attention to the reopening and
  relocation of a business.
• Using new technologies such as social media and video conferencing tools to boost sales
  and flexibility [5].

The Small Business Disaster Recovery Framework (SBDRF)

Business recovery over time can be defined using different categories: 

• Operating versus not operating – Operating because your business is producing income, or temporarily not operating because your business is rebuilding or repairing.
• Demised – Your business has stopped operation permanently because of disaster conditions.
• Survived – Your business is operating but has not achieved pre-disaster profit or debt levels.
• Recovered – Your business is operating and has restabilized to an adapted pre-disaster status.
• Resilient – Your business is operating and has outshone your business’s pre-disaster status, reducing vulnerability to future disasters [6].

When a natural disaster strikes your community, it can change your life, your family’s life, and your customers’ lives. The Small Business Disaster Recovery Framework (SBDRF) considers the interactions between:

• The recovery of the owner.
• The recovery of the owner’s family unit.
• The recovery of the business’s customers, suppliers, and community.
• The internal recovery of the business over time.

References:

[5] Stevenson JR, Chang-Richards Y, Conradson D, Wilkinson S, Vargo J, Seville E, et al. Organizational networks and recovery following the Canterbury earthquakes. Earthquake Spectra. 2014;30(1):555-575. doi: 10.1193/022013EQS041MR

[6] Marshall MI, Schrank HL. Small business disaster recovery: A research framework. Nat Hazards. 2014;72:597-616. doi: 10.1007/s11069-013-1025-z