After the 2022 Rio Dell earthquake caused devastation in the region, the county began creating a document formally outlining disaster recovery strategies. On Tuesday, the document was unveiled at the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors meeting.

The Humboldt County Recovery Appendix details short, medium and long-term disaster recovery resources, initiatives and opportunities that the county could pursue in the event of a significant disaster such as a devastating earthquake. Last Thursday, the 7.0 magnitude earthquake and the tsunami warning that followed surprised many. Five days later, only 13 damage reports were filed, with the majority reporting minor damage, such as devices falling from shelves.

“One of the key lessons we learned from the 2022 earthquake is the need to prioritize recovery from the start of the response. Often, recovery comes after the fact, but if we wait to implement recovery programs until the immediate response is concluded, we are already behind the times. So we used the practice that we implemented in 2022 to essentially create a new incident command system,” said Humboldt County Office of Emergency Services Manager Ryan Derby.

Full Recovery appendix of more than 100 pages can be viewed online and is currently subject to a 30-day public comment period, which will end on December 16.

The plan identifies eight “lifelines” of community necessities such as public safety, food, water, shelter and medical assistance that the county would be responsible for helping provide if – such as during the earthquake of 2022 – a disaster left people homeless and wiped out local infrastructure.

Perhaps the most important part of the document details possible funding routes. Humboldt County certainly cannot afford disaster relief on its own, especially given the more than $10 million budget deficit currently weighing on county coffers. Rio Dell, the center of the 2022 earthquake, needed $12.9 million from the state to rebuild its water system after it was destroyed in the disaster.

The 2022 earthquake did not trigger FEMA assistance because the financial damage tally did not meet the agency’s thresholds, largely because the dozens of destroyed homes were relatively cheap.

“It’s easy to get a state declaration, it’s easy to do a local declaration, so to speak, as long as we have the damage assessments, but to get a federal declaration, it’s hundreds of millions of dollars damage. And so, you know, a hurricane? No problem, you’ll probably get this every time. An earthquake in Los Angeles? No problem, but an earthquake here? Not so much,” Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal said.

The county had coronavirus relief funds to spend on rebuilding after the 2022 earthquake, but now those dollars have all been spent, Honsal added.

The Recovery Annex clearly outlines when and how the county could use disaster relief funds, which would ideally save staff time that would otherwise be spent researching where the county could go for funds .

The board voted unanimously to accept the annex report.

Jackson Guilfoil can be reached at 707-441-0506.