As you’ve learned, damage assessment activities drive the rest of the response and recovery actions. It is critical to collect accurate and thorough information and to maintain the appropriate documentation.

In this lesson, you will learn about methods for documentation and record keeping as a part of your damage assessment program. You will also learn how that data can be used after the event.

Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to:

• Explain how damage assessment information is used after the event.
• Explain documentation and record-keeping methods for effective damage assessments.

The information collected by damage assessment response teams is used for many purposes. Immediately following an event, data provides essential information for decision-makers, which is used for setting response priorities and determining the need for staging areas (e.g., close to the damaged areas).

Damage assessment informs decision makers about repair and restoration needs for critical infrastructure and key resources, as well as impacts to response capabilities. This early information also provides needed data about the socio-economic needs of the community as far as housing, social services, and the like. Information about collection/disposal needs and debris estimates help you allocate resources and helps determine other planning priorities such as landfill life and debris disposal options.

All of this information feeds into the Preliminary Damage Assessment and is ultimately required as a part of the Presidential Disaster Declaration Process. It helps determine if your community has surpassed damage thresholds; is overwhelmed and is in need of additional resources; and the level of aid that may be needed – whether State, Federal, mutual aid, or contract resources.

From a more long-term perspective, the data can be used to determine areas of the damage assessment program that may be in need of improvement. In addition, the information can be used to help identify mitigation planning opportunities in your community, and it feeds into the Post Disaster Redevelopment Plan.

• Agencies’ ability to provide services
• The need for critical infrastructure repair/restoration
• New response priorities
• The need for and potential location of staging areas
• Socio-economic needs
• Collection/disposal needs
• Resource allocation
• Planning priorities
• The need for State and Federal assistance
• The need for mutual aid
• Areas for program improvement
• Mitigation opportunities
• Recovery priorities

The collection of information should be coordinated with different teams and agencies and at varying levels of government. You should collect information from damage assessment response teams, amateur radio volunteers, Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT), first responders, service providers, the media, and social networking. Remember, it is important to verify the information you receive, particularly with social media. It is important to collect accurate information. Be sure to coordinate with different teams and agencies at varying levels of government when collecting information.

Collect as much information as you can to document the damage. All of this information can be reported to the Damage Assessment Coordinator through the reporting system established by your plan, such as radio communication, collection of forms, and/or in-person debriefs.

The documentation of damage can be recorded on electronic or paper forms. Your collection of information should also include photographs and video if available.

Click on the links to view examples of damage assessment documentation methods.

Photo Documentation

Alternate Means of Data Collection

Photo Documentation

When you take photos of damage in the community, it is important to keep accurate records of where the photos were taken. One way to do this is to complete a location form and include it in the photo.

Alternate Means of Data Collection

Although your community's first-in teams (if used) and the local damage assessment response teams should be relied upon as the primary resources for gathering damage assessment information, do not overlook the wealth of information that can be provided by local residents.

Invite residents to submit damage photos to an email account or post them to your emergency management agency's social media sites. Better yet, provide an electronic form that can be submitted online to provide the degree of detail you need, with contact information so your agency can follow up for more information.

For example, after severe weather in the spring of 2011, the Indiana Department of Homeland Security used an online survey to collect damage information. Press releases were issued to area newspapers to ensure that the public was informed about this option. If you use this method, be sure to explain, in the press release and the survey instructions, the intended use of the information and make it clear that completing the form does not constitute an application for assistance. Verification of information is critical.

In December of 2010, a rainstorm ravaged the state of Maine on the heels of a snowstorm that had dropped a foot of snow just a week earlier, causing devastating floods across several counties.

In Washington County, 8 to 10 inches of rain fell in two days. Roads and bridges were washed away by the raging floodwaters.

The Governor requested a Preliminary Damage Assessment in response to the rainstorm, as the first step toward qualifying for a Presidential disaster declaration.

By the time site inspectors arrived in Washington County, floodwaters had receded and another snowstorm had rolled in. A blanket of snow more than a foot deep covered the ground, concealing crumbled pavement, washed out roads, and other damages.

In Washington County, Maine, damage assessment teams had taken photos and carefully documented the damages caused by the December rainstorm.

In fact, records from the initial assessment showed over 800,000 dollars in damages, bringing the per capita damages for the county well over the established threshold to qualify for Federal assistance.

However, although the impacts in Washington County were staggering, the state as a whole did not meet the per capita threshold to qualify for disaster assistance based on the rainstorm damages. The request for a Presidential Disaster Declaration was denied.

As one of his last acts before a change in administration, the Governor transferred 100,000 dollars from the State Emergency Contingent Account to help the affected communities. It would not be nearly enough.

Immediately after the new Governor was sworn in, he wrote a letter to the President in hopes of turning around the decision. Because the first declaration request was based solely upon the rainstorm damages, he requested a new assessment to include damages from the snowstorm that had occurred the week prior.

A new assessment was done in January, and new information revealed over 1.7 million dollars in damage from the two storms. In Washington County alone, infrastructure damages exceeded a million dollars.

This time, all the appropriate damage thresholds were met, and three counties in Maine, including Washington County, as well as Tribal lands located in Washington County, were declared eligible for Public Assistance.

This declaration made Federal funding available, on a cost-sharing basis, for emergency work and the repair or replacement of damaged facilities in the affected areas.

In addition, the state became eligible for Federal funding, through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, to implement hazard mitigation measures to lessen the impact of hazardous weather events in the future. Close

In this lesson, you learned that damage assessment documentation and record keeping are critically important for identifying needs, setting priorities, and allocating resources. In addition, accurate documentation is required as part of the Presidential Disaster Declaration Process.

Damage assessment information is also used to improve the damage assessment program, identify mitigation opportunities, and drive recovery efforts – all of which contribute to a more disaster-resistant community.

Click this link to view a list of all items provided in the Toolkit for this lesson.

A link to the following resource from this lesson is included in the Toolkit.

Damage Assessment after the Paso Robles (San Simeon, California) Earthquake: Lessons for Emergency Management

Narrator:

On December 22, 2003, an earthquake registering 6.5 on the Richter scale shook the small city of Paso Robles. The damages to the community were severe. Total financial losses, along with the cost of debris removal and emergency protective measures, amounted to more than 226 million dollars for the county. Research done after the event studied the effects of damage assessment in order to identify lessons learned for the emergency management profession. The study documented 10 important lessons.

Lesson One: Damage assessment plays a vital role during the initial minutes and hours of disaster response operations. Seconds after the earthquake, firefighters began summoning additional emergency response personnel and activating mutual aid agreements from neighboring jurisdictions. This quick response is believed to have prevented many fires in those early hours after the quake.

Lesson Two: Damage assessment is crucial to the recovery phase of emergency management and is required before resources can be acquired and utilized for disaster assistance and rebuilding.

As one public official noted after the earthquake, “If you are looking for any State or Federal assistance, you need to be able to substantiate those numbers.”

Lesson Three: Although damage assessment is a dangerous activity, it does promote a safer environment for the public and those involved with repairs, demolition, and reconstruction.

Responders after the earthquake had a dangerous job ahead of them. To keep damage assessment teams and others safe, firefighters cordoned off the most dangerous areas with yellow tape, and only those with the proper safety equipment – and accompanied by a firefighter – were allowed to approach the damaged buildings.

Lesson Four: There is an incredible convergence of personnel at the scene of a disaster for the purpose of evaluating the disaster’s impacts.

Damage assessment after the earthquake was conducted by the local Emergency Management Agency, the Fire Department, the American Red Cross, the Building Department, Public Works, volunteer architects and engineers, and officials from the county, State, and Federal levels of government. The Chamber of Commerce and Main Street Association helped local businesses determine lost income and other liabilities, and insurance companies assessed damages to settle claims with their clients.

Lesson Five: There are different types of damage assessments and diverse methods to conduct them.

An initial damage assessment (also known as a windshield survey or a drive-through assessment) was conducted immediately after the event.

Later, aerial damage assessments covered the large geographic area affected by the quake. Site assessments were conducted to gain an up-close visual evaluation of damaged buildings.

As time progressed, additional detailed information was collected, and eventually all of this information was included as part of the Preliminary Damage Assessment to contribute to the Presidential Disaster Declaration application.

Lesson Six: Damage assessment is not a one-time occurrence, but a repetitive process.

By conducting multiple damage assessments, officials in Paso Robles were able to evaluate damage they couldn’t detect in early assessments, as well as that done by aftershocks, and reevaluate buildings for entry once stabilized.

Lesson Seven: Accuracy of initial and even later damage assessments may be questionable.

Structural integrity may often be seen only upon careful inspection from within, which was difficult or impossible with many of the buildings damaged in the earthquake. Some information was delayed as well because many property owners were out of town for the holiday season.

Lesson Eight: Damage assessment is a politically salient activity after a disaster occurs.

When the earth stopped shaking, the disturbing images of destruction encouraged quick action not only by local officials, but by the Governor and congressional leaders.

Lesson Nine: There are several challenges confronting damage assessment personnel.

Damage assessment teams had to deal with people who wanted to obtain their personal belongings from damaged buildings, and business owners who were frustrated because they could not reopen due to safety concerns.

Communicating with other responders presented a challenge because of the sheer number of people involved. In addition, there was some variance in counting techniques and documentation methods used by different organizations.

Lesson Ten: Many steps can be taken before and after a disaster to ensure an efficient and effective assessment of damages.

All things considered, the damage assessment after the Paso Robles earthquake was fairly successful. County level interviewees believed that their prior planning, training and experience in damage assessment made the function easier to perform. Other major strengths that were noted were widespread knowledge of standard operating procedures and a concerted effort to reach out to the community to gather damage reports.

What can you learn from the Paso Robles earthquake that will help your community respond when disaster strikes?