The FEMA National Disaster Recovery Framework: Explained

A disaster recovery coordinator wearing a reflective vest talks with a volunteer in an aid center.

The FEMA National Disaster Recovery Framework: Explained

Since 1980, the United States has experienced 426 disasters. Each of these disasters has exceeded $1 billion in damages for a combined total cost of more than $3.1 trillion, according to Climate Central.

Disasters such as tropical cyclones and hurricanes, wildfires, floods, and earthquakes have prompted federal, state, and local governments to strengthen disaster recovery planning and create structures for responding to emergencies. At the federal level, the organization charged with developing that structure is the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which is responsible for helping people before, during, and after disasters.

One of the primary tools in FEMA’s tool kit is the FEMA National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF). This document outlines how the federal government responds to disasters, as well as the roles and responsibilities of local governments and other parties.

Exploring FEMA and the NDRF can help in gaining an understanding of the nation’s approach to disaster recovery.


An Overview of FEMA and the National Disaster Recovery Framework

The federal government first provided disaster recovery relief in 1803, following a destructive fire in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. As its approach to disaster recovery assistance evolved, it created a patchwork of agencies that contributed. In 1979, President Jimmy Carter signed an executive order to unify more than 100 programs under a new umbrella agency, FEMA, the primary federal agency involved in disaster recovery.

Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Congress established the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), bringing FEMA and 22 other federal programs, offices, and agencies together to form a coordinated response to national security as it relates to emergencies and disasters.


Types of FEMA Assistance

FEMA offers several types of disaster recovery assistance. It provides aid to:


Funding FEMA

Congress appropriates funding for FEMA through the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF). After the president declares an emergency or a major disaster in accordance with the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (the Stafford Act), FEMA is authorized to provide assistance paid for by the DRF.


The FEMA National Disaster Recovery Framework

To begin understanding FEMA’s National Disaster Recovery Framework, it is important to distinguish it from FEMA’s National Response Framework (NRF). Specifically, while the NRF outlines life-safety and stabilization efforts that are immediate in nature, the NDRF focuses on long-term rebuilding across a community.

Think of FEMA’s National Disaster Recovery Framework as a high-level blueprint that describes the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders involved in long-term disaster recovery and how those stakeholders will collaborate. 

The National Disaster Recovery Framework outlines:

  • How disaster recovery efforts fit into the National Preparedness Goal, as well as important principles of disaster recovery
  • Recovery roles and responsibilities of the federal government 
  • Recovery roles and responsibilities of SLTT governments
  • Nongovernmental resources involved in disaster recovery

Each category is discussed in more detail below.


National Disaster Recovery Framework: The National Preparedness Goal and Disaster Recovery Principles

The NDRF begins by noting that it was established in support of the nation’s overall National Preparedness Goal to establish a secure and resilient nation. By incorporating a focus on resilience, the framework attempts to strengthen the nation’s preparedness for future disasters. 

The NDRF stresses certain principles:

  • Local communities are responsible for leading disaster recovery efforts. All communities have unique features and needs, and successful disaster recovery plans are shaped by the communities themselves and carried out at the local levels. FEMA offers a wide range of planning guides that can help local entities’ planning efforts, but its primary role is to coordinate and support local communities as they lead efforts to recover from disasters. Local communities, and not FEMA, are responsible for directing disaster recovery.
  • A whole community approach can drive successful disaster recovery. The framework emphasizes that including a wide variety of players in national preparedness can improve coordination and cultivate strong working relationships. The whole community approach encourages the participation of private and nonprofit organizations, nongovernmental organizations, public entities, and agencies from all levels of the government.
  • Resilience is key in disaster preparedness. Building on lessons learned from actual disasters, the framework emphasizes not only preparing for disasters by also acknowledging changes in conditions, as well as withstanding and adjusting to those conditions.
  • Equity is part of the foundation of emergency management. The framework promotes efforts to support outcomes that meet the needs of all members of a community.
  • The process of disaster recovery is not linear. The framework asserts that the disaster recovery life cycle is not solely focused on recovery and rebuilding — it also includes mitigation and response, and the efforts to prepare for and address disasters can be overlapping and interdependent.


The Roles and Responsibilities of the Federal Government Outlined in the National Disaster Recovery Framework

FEMA’s National Disaster Recovery Framework explains several key aspects of the federal government’s roles and responsibilities in disaster recovery. 


Providing Leadership in the Field 

The NDRF identifies several FEMA roles that help coordinate disaster recovery efforts in the field, including the following: 

  • The federal coordinating officer (FCO) coordinates federal assistance, establishes field offices, and partners with local officials. FCOs are members of FEMA’s field leadership cadre, which leads federal response and recovery efforts and ensures compliance with all federal requirements.
  • The federal disaster recovery coordinator (FDRC) serves under the FCO, ensuring that recovery and mitigation considerations are incorporated into disaster recovery decision-making and facilitating coordination and collaboration with local officials.
  • The federal disaster recovery officer (FDRO) serves as the primary advisor to the FCO and FDRC on recovery issues and supports local disaster recovery managers.


Coordinating Interagency Recovery Efforts

FEMA’s Interagency Recovery Coordination (IRC) partnership mobilizes federal agencies and other stakeholders to pinpoint recovery needs, establish priorities, and implement solutions to recover from disasters. The IRC provides assistance to local authorities, helps enhance communication among disaster recovery stakeholders, and works to ensure that local authorities are aware of all available sources of support.


Providing Recovery Support

The FEMA National Disaster Recovery Framework specifies six disaster recovery support functions (RSFs) provided by the federal government through FEMA and other agencies. 

1. Community Assistance

Through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and FEMA, the federal government coordinates assistance and support from federal and nongovernmental partners to help local authorities plan for and manage disaster recovery. This can include:

  • Predisaster planning, such as identifying potential housing issues and promoting collaboration
  • Postdisaster assistance, such as accessing resources, providing training, and conducting outreach and community engagement

2. Economic Recovery

Through the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration, the federal government offers local authorities assistance in sustaining and rebuilding businesses, promoting employment, and developing economic opportunities in areas affected by disasters. This can include:

  • Predisaster planning, such as identifying risks that may affect economic assets and infrastructure, developing strategies to strengthen local economies, promoting partnerships that may strengthen economic development, and encouraging businesses to mitigate risk and create disaster recovery plans
  • Postdisaster assistance, such as helping businesses find disaster lending programs, helping businesses stabilize and build back after disasters, and implementing workforce development initiatives to provide displaced disaster survivors with vocational training

3. Health, Education, and Human Services

Through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, the federal government also offers local authorities assistance in restoring public health, health care, human services, education, and behavioral health systems. This can include:

  • Predisaster planning, such as delivering resources to increase the capacity of health, education, and human services providers, as well as offering emergency management training
  • Postdisaster assistance, such as supporting strategies to restore community healthcare capacity; assisting local authorities in finding funding to address health, education, or human services challenges; and advising local authorities on potential waivers or flexibility in federal health, education, and human services programs following disasters

4. Housing

Through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the federal government offers assistance in developing comprehensive recovery plans focused on housing, assessing disaster impacts on housing, and analyzing housing damage data. This can include:

  • Predisaster planning, such as supporting local efforts to enhance capabilities for long-term recovery of housing, as well as providing training, tools, and resources for housing development and rebuilding, including resilience and mitigation efforts
  • Postdisaster assistance, such as assisting communities in identifying resources that promote the rebuilding of resilient and affordable housing and developing housing assessments that identify the effects of a disaster on housing for renters and homeowners

5. Infrastructure Systems

Through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the federal government provides assistance in rehabilitating and reconstructing infrastructure systems affected by disasters. This can include:

  • Predisaster planning, such as conducting floodplain management studies, providing resilience planning training for roadways and highways and conducting hurricane evacuation studies
  • Postdisaster assistance, such as providing technical assistance in creating infrastructure recovery strategies and identifying resources for infrastructure recovery

6. Natural and Cultural Resources

Through the U.S. Department of the Interior, the federal government offers local authorities assistance in protecting, preserving, and recovering natural and cultural resources after a disaster. This can include:

  • Predisaster planning, such as creating historic preservation guides and supporting apprenticeship programs to address shortages of professionals who are qualified to protect, conserve, and restore cultural resources
  • Postdisaster assistance, such as assisting local authorities in identifying government, nonprofit, and philanthropic partners to help the recovery of natural and cultural resources


The Roles and Responsibilities of State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Governments in FEMA’s National Disaster Recovery Framework

The NDRF calls on SLTT governments to play a significant role in recovering from the majority of the disasters they face. The framework suggests several predisaster best practices, including:

  • Designating local officials as the parties responsible for heading local recovery activities
  • Developing plans and relationships, such as creating predisaster recovery and resilience assessments and establishing relationships with nonprofit and philanthropic partners, businesses, and industry 
  • Conducting training and exercises regularly to educate all partners in the recovery process and to strengthen coordination
  • Determining data needs and metrics for successful recovery, such as identifying the data necessary to make disaster declarations

The framework also suggests several postdisaster best practices, including:

  • Conducting initial damage assessments to inform recovery planning and make requests for federal support
  • Establishing communications structures so that SLTTs can share information both internally and externally
  • Conducting outreach to understand community needs
  • Monitoring disaster recovery progress to help achieve disaster recovery goals

To assist in implementing predisaster and postdisaster best practices, FEMA offers SLTT governments a wide range of tools and case studies. In addition, the National Training and Education Division (NTED) offers a variety of training courses related to disaster preparation and recovery.


Roles and Responsibilities of Local Governments 

The FEMA National Disaster Recovery Framework places significant responsibility for adopting and implementing recovery strategies upon local governments because they can best represent the interests and needs of communities affected by disasters. In addition to the best practices above, FEMA offers local governments several resources, including:


Roles and Responsibilities of State and Territorial Governments

The FEMA National Disaster Recovery Framework designates states and territorial governments as the conduits through which federal support flows to local communities. As part of that responsibility, the framework emphasizes that state and territorial governments need to develop clear, open lines of communication with all stakeholders involved in disaster recovery. FEMA offers state and territorial governments several resources, including:


Roles and Responsibilities of Tribal Nations

The FEMA National Disaster Recovery Framework places responsibility for leading and managing disaster recovery efforts on tribal land with Tribal Nations. The framework acknowledges that the disaster recovery needs of specific Tribal Nations can vary based on factors such as political structures, cultures, and historical context. In addition to offering a Tribal Affairs hub, FEMA provides the following resources:


Nongovernmental Resources Outlined in FEMA’s National Disaster Recovery Framework

The NDRF also includes information on nongovernmental resources that assist in disaster recovery efforts. Organizations such as the following can offer support:

  • Long-term recovery groups (LTRGs) are coalitions of organizations such as voluntary agencies, community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, and grassroots organizations. These groups typically address specific disasters and play an important role in recruiting volunteers to assist in disaster recovery efforts. FEMA’s voluntary agency liaisons (VALs) coordinate with LTRGs to help support the services LTRGs offer. FEMA also offers the guide Engaging Faith-Based and Community Organizations.
  • Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are independent, nonprofit organizations that offer resources for disaster recovery. They offer a wide range of services, such as crisis counseling, case management, debris removal, housing, and distribution of emergency supplies. VALs coordinate with NGOs. FEMA also offers a guide, Building Private-Public Partnerships, for working with organizations such as NGOs.
  • Philanthropic organizations, businesses, and academic institutions can offer support such as grants, donations, aid via corporate social responsibility initiatives, research, and technical assistance. Some of these organizations offer guidance on addressing disasters; for example, the Center for Disaster Philanthropy offers a Disaster Philanthropy Playbook and the National Philanthropic Trust offers Disaster Giving: An Issue Guide for Donors.

 

FEMA’s National Disaster Recovery Framework Offers a High-Level Road Map for Disaster Recovery

Disaster recovery is a complex process. Becoming familiar with the FEMA National Disaster Recovery Framework is an important step in learning about disaster recovery efforts in the United States, key participants, and important considerations for successful recovery.