04 Feb Lessons in Disaster Recovery: Economic Impacts and Strategic Response

The start of 2020 has brought with it mixed emotions, with much of the country affected by bushfires, floods and the disruption associated with the Coronavirus.  We recognise that while many of us have returned to work for the year, this is not possible for the people whose homes and livelihoods have been impacted.

We have been shocked and saddened to see loss of life, destruction of property and livelihoods, as well as the loss of wildlife and their natural habitat.

Many communities in disaster-affected areas are now working to document and assess the specific impacts for their regions with a view to accessing recovery funding, and to target the allocation of available resources to where they can be most effective.

To support disaster affected communities to secure essential recovery funding, we have been sharing the following Disaster Impact Assessment and Strategic Response framework:

• Profile your local economy by industry sector
• Build a framework to detail the extent to which the respective industries and businesses have been directly impacted and disrupted by disasters
• Estimate the economic impacts of the disaster and associated disruptions in terms of:
  • Employment
  • Wages and Salaries
  • Output
  • Value-Added
  • Gross Regional product
• Expand the framework to assess the likely flow-on supply-chain disruptions for local industries
• For impacted industries, identifying the potential for short-term reassignment and reallocation of resources to the disaster response and recovery
• Identify those local industries with the potential and capacity to assist and support the disaster response and recovery
• Define a framework for monitoring the longer-term implications of the disaster for population, employment and investment
• Prepare a strategic response to increase the region’s resilience in relation to future disasters.

To further support recovery efforts, there are many public resources available to government agencies, local governments, and the communities they serve. Two examples are:

Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience

Australian Disaster Resilience Knowledge Hub

Economic Development Australia

Bushfire Disaster Recovery Hub

We express our sympathy and support, particularly for the bushfire and flood affected communities. We are donating support, advice and resources to agencies and communities, with the aim of assisting with documenting the impacts of the disasters, and with accessing the funding that will be essential for the recovery process.

If you are in a bushfire or flood affected area, please contact us to discuss what support we can provide.

Let’s Talk: 1300 737 443

Kind regards,
The REMPLAN team

www.remplan.com.au