• Establishing a plan could help minimize the effects of a disaster.car hotel disaster accident image by paul prescott from Fotolia.com
  
  Field recovery, the process of securing people, property and possessions, is inevitable following a natural disaster. An action plan or checklist makes field recovery safer and more efficient. Knowing where to meet friends and family, as well as how to recover people and possessions, could drastically decrease the disaster's effect on you and your surroundings; it could help improve someone else's lot as well. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) and others offer several recommendations for recovering your life and your business from a disaster.
  
  

Safety

• OSHA recommends all recovery teams receive full vaccinations against common diseases and infections such as tetanus. Responders should also establish recovery teams, if possible, and assign everyone a role. According to OSHA, each team should have personal protective equipment such as thick boots or a face mask as well as a first-aid kit and fire extinguishers. Each team should have a competent leader and access to telecommunications at all times.
  
  

Demolition

• Often, recovering from a disaster involves destroying damaged structures that are only going to pose hazards in the future; demolition, though necessary at times, requires a careful approach. These expeditions often involve using gasoline- or propane-powered tools. To avoid injury, OSHA recommends you always provide properly ventilation for your tools and generators. As you demolish dangerous buildings and recover people and property, especially in older buildings, always know what sort of material you are working with. Some paints contain lead, and some insulation types contain asbestos. OSHA also recommends using water or other means to minimize dust resulting from demolition. If possible, avoid performing heavy demolition or recovery efforts in areas with high concentrations of mold.
  
  

Recovering Items

• If a structure has sustained damage, OSHA recommends not entering it unless someone familiar with structural integrity first inspects it. Be careful when crossing floors or other areas that may have become compromised. If possible, team-lift heavy objects or use a dolly cart to transport them. If you enter a structure that might have live electricity, always treat an exposed wire as though it were charged and potentially lethal until proven otherwise. As you begin recovering items, find a dry and reinforced place to put them. After you have completed your recovery efforts for the day, thoroughly wash your hands and body. Use a waterless alcohol-based cleanser if you do not have access to water. Ensure that the worksite has proper sanitation facilities, and wash thoroughly before eating.
  
  

Backup for Computers and Business

• You must recover more than just your physical surroundings after a disaster. The technology magazine "Tech Target" recommends having a recovery plan for computer-based business actions and information. RISC defines a core set of activities you must follow in a disaster-recovery or business-continuity scenario. Once you assess the damage to your infrastructure, notify by any means possible any parties who need to take action to correct the outage. Next, isolate affected business and computer systems and work toward fixing them in order to minimize the scope of damage and losses. The last critical step involves repairing or replacing the most critical infrastructure first; in this way, you can begin to work your business and your life back toward normalcy.