11.2 Wrap up:

Public offices should ensure that they acknowledge staff for their efforts in disaster management.  In some cases where trauma has been suffered they may require ongoing counselling and support.

A debriefing session should be conducted with staff and volunteers involved to compare the counter disaster plan to what actually happened. This helps ensure that confusing or impractical procedures are clarified in future response plans. The discussion results should be documented for inclusion in the final report.

11.2 Review and Report

A review of the disaster should be undertaken to assess the impact to the Public Office and to inform future response strategies and counter disaster plans. 

Should a disaster of any great magnitude occur, management level staff members should seek to inquire about:

• how the disaster occurred
• how the recovery operated proceeded
• the appropriateness and success of the recovery operation
• the measure of interruption to business functions, and
• consequences of the disaster situation and recovery operation.

Investigations into disaster situations may lead to changes in procedures.

The review should be summarised into a report evaluating:

• response and recovery actions taken
• performance of external recovery services
• financial impact
• impact to business and services
• loss of records
• damage to records, and
• damage to building / facility.

This information will inform the development of future response strategies and counter disaster plans. 

11.3 Records about the disaster

The Records management program needs to ensure they have all documentation of the event and assess the impact the disaster has had on Public Office. This includes:

• records created through the disaster (e.g. invoices, reports, key decisions)
• documentation covering the disposal of lost and damaged records
• the impact of loss on business and accountability requirements
• ability to fully access information within recovered (or alternative) records
• disaster report