Disaster reaction and response involves activating your counter reaction and recovery disaster plan to stabilise a disaster situation and enable recovery operations. Refer to your plan for response actions, procedures, advice, and contact information.

7.1 Activate plan

While some disaster situations will mean that the fire brigade, police, hazardous material team etc. have been notified and are involved with the organisation, there could be other disaster situations where the coordinator of the response and recovery effort will need to decide whether it is prudent to notify the emergency services.

To activate the plan the coordinator needs to:

• notify all members of the disaster response team (or delegate this duty to someone reliable), and
• brief the response team on the proposed response to the disaster as outlined in the disaster preparedness plan.

Remember, human life always comes first!

Recovery efforts should NOT begin until the site is deemed safe by emergency services and the CEO or Disaster Co-ordinator. Staff will need to listen and adhere to the advice of emergency services personnel and Workplace Health and Safety co-ordinators.

If structural Damage has occurred emergency tradespersons may be needed to address the damage or put temporary provisions in place to make the site accessible for salvage. A list of contacts should exist in your Counter disaster plan.

Refer to AS 3745 – 2010/Amended 2018: Planning for emergencies in facilities.

7.2 Key response actions

If required, public offices should set up a central area at the site or an alternate site, to be used by the Co-ordinator and team to make and relay decisions. An appropriate area may also be needed established for records recovery.

Key actions in disaster response:

• Assemble the disaster response team
• Brief the response team on the proposed response to the disaster as outlined in the disaster preparedness plan
• Assess the condition of the site and ensure that it is safe to enter
• Enter the site equipped with floorplans and inventory/locations of high priority records
• Where possible, restore temperature and humidity controls
• Broadly assess the extent and type of damage and records affected
• Contact your insurer (check the Protocol for assessors)
• Contact relevant authorities/stakeholders (e.g. parent institution, NSW State Archives and Records, other personnel)
• Source human resources (e.g. existing and/or additional staff, volunteers or contractors)
• Photograph and document the disaster; you will need records for your insurance claims, reporting to management, and to NSW State Archives and Records.
• Prioritise records for recovery based on your records assessment
• Develop a plan for recovery, seeking expert opinion from conservators. If the scope of the disaster is beyond your resources consider commercial assistance.
• Prepare work areas, this could mean temporarily establishing an alternative site
• Establish work flows
• Gather equipment and resources
• Stabilise damaged records
• Discard duplicate and time expired records and document the process
• Protect or move unaffected records from the disaster site

Take some time to plan and coordinate recovery actions as this will enable recovery operations to be more efficient.

7.3 Assess damage to records

Determine what records are affected

• What records are affected by the disaster? (tip: refer to the lists which accompany your plan for information)
• What physical format are the records (e.g. paper, photographs, maps and plans, video, tape)?
• Document your findings by taking notes and photographs

Determine the extent of the damage

• What damage has been done to the records?
• What are the quantities?
• Can the damage be repaired?
• Are the boxes wet, but the contents dry?
• Are records wet, damp, only a little wet, or soaked?
• Take notes as you go to ensure findings are documented

Identify recovery priorities

• Use your organisation's high priority recovery list to determine which records you need to recover first and to locate these records within the storage area and facility.

Some areas with the facility may not be immediately accessible or safe, and you may not be able to access or retrieve records until you have been advised it is safe to enter the site.

7.4 Evaluate records

Once records been assessed for damage, you will then need to make decisions about what to do with the records. Are they ephemeral, are they time-expired and can be destroyed, or are they required to be salvaged and recovered?

You will need to make these decisions about the records using authorised retention and disposal authorities and in consultation with your Records Manager and Business units. Importantly, you will also need to follow your organisation’s disposal authorisation processes. Decisions and actions should be documented to provide an audit trail.

A person must not abandon or dispose of a State record unless in accordance with the State Records Act 1998. You must contact NSW State Archives and Records before you make arrangements for the disposal of records damaged in the disaster.

Copies, publications and ephemeral records

If the affected records are identified in organisational policy as ephemeral and can be disposed under Normal Administrative Practice, then you may not need to recover the records and the records can be destroyed.

HOWEVER, care must be taken to ensure that only records able to be disposed of under Normal Administrative Practice are destroyed.

Time-expired records

If the affected records are covered by current authorised retention and disposal authorities, have been retained for the minimum retention period, and are no longer required for administrative, legal, financial, audit or business needs, then your organisation may decide to dispose of the records rather than recover them.

REMEMBER, to document the disposal of records and follow your organisation’s disposal authorisation processes.

Records needed for business purposes or State archives

Reporting of damaged records to NSW State Archives and Records is a requirement of the Standard on the physical storage of State records.

If the affected records are:

• still required for ongoing business
• have not met the minimum retention periods in the retention and disposal authority
• not covered by retention and disposal authorities, or
• identified as State archives

then you must make contact as soon as possible to discuss the effected records.

It is important not to assume records are unsalvageable or rush to dispose of damaged records without written consent!

NSW State Archives and Records can:

• provide further advice on how to salvage the damaged records
• clarify retention and disposal requirements, and
• if appropriate grant emergency authorisation to destroy damage records

Remember, you must contact NSW State Archives and Records to advise that there has been damage to records or loss of records, and that this must occur before you make any arrangements for the disposal of records damaged in the disaster.

The recovery of records damaged in a disaster should be carried out under the supervision of a Conservator and in consultation with NSW State Archives and Records.

To contact NSW State Archives and Records, telephone (02) 9714 3080 or email govrec@records.nsw.gov.au.

7.5 Determine if you need assistance

Identify and determine if you need to call in assistance for the recovery.  This will depend on:

• nature and severity of disaster
• quantity of records affected by the disaster
• extent of the damage to records (is it minimal impact on a few records or severe damage to many records? If large quantities of records have been affected by water, it may be necessary to freeze the records until they can be dealt with)
• is mould growing on the records?   Has over 48 hours passed since the disaster occurred?
• are the resources for recovery available? can they be readily sourced? has the disaster store been impacted by the event?
• does the organisation have the expertise and resources? Are staff trained in recovery techniques and can you use internal resources for the recovery process?
• is there enough physical space for recovery? (wet records will likely take at least 3 times more space than when dried).

In making the decision to use the services of a disaster recovery specialist, you will need to liaise with management and your insurer. See our Protocol for assessors for disasters at NSW Government organisations which involve records. You should also consult with NSW State Archives and Records regarding any treatments or repairs that are required.

7.6 Considerations for recovery

The following describes the process of determining the damage to records and the requirements and methods for recovery.

Deal with wet records in the first 48 hours

Water damage is the most common result of disasters, and mould growth is always a high risk in disasters involving water. Flooded areas and wet records must be dried out quickly.

Dry out the space. If this is not possible, remove the wet records to a dry area quickly.

Processes that should NEVER be used on state records and state archives during disaster salvage

• Decontamination with any chemical fumigant. Fumigants include ethylene oxide, hydrogen peroxide gas (e.g. bleach), methyl bromide, or any proprietary fumigant.
• Decontamination using gamma irradiation.
• Freeze drying of photographic or film collections and plastics (e.g. plastic architectural plans).

Insurers need to be made aware of the Protocol for assessors which outlines ‘do’s and don’ts’ for record recovery.

Remember to consult with NSW State Archives and Records regarding any treatments or repairs that are required.

Processes that pose risks to State archives

All processes except air drying pose some risk to records and should only be undertaken by highly trained staff and reputable companies.

Freeze drying can cause damage to some formats, e.g. photographic materials, and should only be used where the size of the disaster precludes air drying.

Quality assurance measures

The recovery company will need to put measures in place to ensure records have been adequately treated:

• Moisture content readings should be taken of records following salvage and treatment to establish whether records have been dried adequately – they should fall into the normal range for dry paper
• Where mould growth has been observed or is suspected, records should be tested to establish whether mould growth is abnormal compared with the baseline levels at the affected site.

7.7 Documenting decisions and actions

Remember, all major decisions and actions should be documented to provide an audit trail. The capture of photographs or video footage can assist the documentation process and support insurance claims.

A recordkeeper can be appointed to co-ordinate tasks such as documenting the disaster site, areas of damage, and damaged records.  This person can also manage the register of records moved off site or into recovery.

Evaluation staff should document the records and their state of repair, including all unsalvageable records.

It’s important that your plan includes details about the essential information to capture. A template could be included as part of the plan.