One challenge is debris removal and decontamination. Emergency managers must identify and focus resources on sectors in the affected area that require immediate attention so that secondary, recurrent, and ongoing emergencies are prevented or contained. Emphasis should be on public safety corridors, cleared byways, transit areas, and zones that have priority for safe entry and use. A second challenge is the setting of priorities for infrastructural repair. Whether the focus is on public health, transportation, communications, energy generation, or other infrastructures, these infrastructures must be ranked by priority. A third challenge is the allocation of efforts and expenditures in renewing, replacing, and restoring key residential and commercial sectors. Difficult distinctions must be made between residential and commercial interests, their relative value, their priority, and the resources needed for each recovery operation. A fourth challenge is the resolution of legal hurdles and impediments. Although the losses sustained in disasters inevitably spawn lawsuits, emergency managers cannot afford to wait until such matters are resolved in the court. They must make the best and most reasonable decisions based on expert advice. The fifth challenge is to restore a viable community. Emergency managers and political leaders must join with business leaders and guardians of major economic ventures in order to establish features and standards for a viable community. This includes a timetable that distinguishes short-term from long-term actions, as well as determinations about when various sectors of the affected community are considered restored. All of the challenges will involve a well-constructed public-private partnership.