CDPHE Disaster Recovery Guide for Local Public Health Agencies
Emergencies and disasters can occur at any time, affecting human health, people’s lives and the infrastructure built to support them. Environmental health problems arising from emergencies and disasters are connected to their effects on the
physical, biological and social environment that pose a threat to human health, well-being and survival: shelter, water, sanitation, disease vectors, pollution, etc. This guide deals with the management of such problems, particularly from the standpoint of the staff member with environmental health or disease prevention responsibilities before, during and after emergencies and disasters.
While most of the information has been prepared by the subject matter experts at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, some of the information is culled from various reliable sources, including CDC, local health agencies and other state health departments. The information contained within this guide is meant to provide our local public health partners some initial guidance in order to begin the recovery process as soon as possible in the aftermath of natural disaster. Please note that the guidance contained in this guide is subject to change at any time depending on the significance and scope of the type of disaster. You are welcome to copy any of the information in the guide for your agency’s use.