Which of the following initiates the system recovery phase of a disaster recovery plan?

Evacuating the disaster site is part of the initial emergency response and personnel safety phase, not the system recovery phase, which focuses on restoring IT infrastructure and business operations.

Damage assessment occurs during the disaster response and evaluation phase, which informs decision-making but precedes the formal initiation of system recovery activities.

Issuing a formal disaster declaration is an administrative and managerial step that authorizes the invocation of the DRP and triggers notification procedures, but it precedes and enables - rather than initiates - the system recovery phase itself.

Activating a hot site - a fully equipped, continuously operational alternate facility with replicated systems and data - is the action that formally initiates the system recovery phase, as it transitions the organization from response mode into active restoration of IT services. The hot site activation begins the technical work of restoring business functions using standby infrastructure. All prior steps (assessment, declaration) are prerequisites that lead to this activation moment.