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Learn-Assess Active in Disaster coordinates 11 private relief groups. Three of these organizations, the American National Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and the Mennonite Disaster Service, were formally recognized in the Disaster Relief Act of 1974 and have signed memoranda of agreement with the Federal Emergency Management Agency formalizing the provision of their disaster assistance. In addition to national organizations, local churches and other voluntary groups often provide significant assistance during and after disasters. Home Leamine Center Back Post-Flood Recovery Post-flood recovery work, aided by many types of disaster assistance, has been largely effective at restoring flood-damaged communities and individual properties to their preflood condition. Unfortunately, this has not always been the wisest course of action, because returning to the status quo leaves the door open for a repeat of the disaster. Numerous recommendations have been made over the years to alter recovery procedures to take advantage of the opportunities presented innnediately after a flood, when outside expertise and money flows into a community, damaged or destroyed facilities are waiting to be repaired or replaced, and local attitudes toward mitigation are more flexible than before. It was thought that this would be the best time to identify mitigation actions that might easily be taken and to delay reconstruction until wise decisions about the vulnerability of future development could be made. Gradually federal agency policies began to change so that over the past two decades individuals and communities have had to meet certain conditions in order to receive disaster assistance. These include protecting the environment, implementing floodplain management measures, purchasing flood Page 29 of 36