Four Stages of Disaster Management
Mitigation--includes activities at the household, community, state and national levels that aim to reduce the damaging effects of all kinds of disasters.
Preparedness--proactive efforts undertaken by individuals, families, businesses, and communities to place themselves in a better state of readiness to withstand or avoid the immediate impact of any kind of disaster.
Response--occurs from the moment an incident takes place (fire, flood, tornado, ice storm, or man-made) through the time that basic emergency human and community needs have been met through rescue operations, mass shelter, mass feeding, and overall stabilization of the disaster-affected community.
Recovery-- follows the disaster response period and may extend for several years after a disaster. Disaster recovery relates to the collaborative efforts of individuals, communities, the non-profit sector, and others to re-establish a sense of normalcy, development and growth in a community affected by a disaster.