Mass care and shelter planning for long-term community recovery in the aftermath of potential disasters

Oregon Region 1 Mass Care and Shelter Planning

A significant challenge associated with community vitality and post-disaster recovery involves the care and sheltering of individuals in the days, weeks, months, and even years following a disaster. The Oregon Department of Emergency Management (OEM) engaged our team to develop tailored county-level mass care and shelter plans for six counties in Region 1.

Care and shelter activities require the support of the whole community. With this in mind, we brought together partner agencies, including OEM, and cooperators to validate a strategy that could be coordinated by governmental agencies, private businesses, and community organizations.

We crafted the plans based upon the results of a needs assessment and gap analysis that we also conducted for the counties. In addition to the planning effort, we designed and facilitated a tabletop exercise to test the six newly developed plans and determine areas for improvement and enhancements needed, which we outlined in an after-action report.

Through this effort, OEM can better prepare themselves and their communities for the future.