Damage Assessment is the process for determining the nature and extent of the loss, suffering, and/or harm to the community resulting from a natural, accidental or human-caused disaster.

Damage assessment provides situational awareness and critical information on:

• Type, scope and severity of the event
• Impact on individuals and communities
• Additional resource needs
• Justification for disaster declaration
• Emergency public information
• Future hazard mitigation projects

Gathers estimates on:

• Number of persons displaced and in need of housing
• Number of persons in shelters
• Number of persons injured
• Number of verified fatalities
• Number, degree of structural loss, and financial cost of private property damage

Structural loss is evaluated on 4 criteria:

• Destroyed: total loss, permanently uninhabitable
• Major: uninhabitable, extensive repairs required that will take more than 30 days to complete
• Minor: uninhabitable, repairs can be completed in less than 30 days
• Affected: no structural damage, habitable without repairs

Public Assistance Damage Assessment

Evaluates the impact to eligible public and non-profit entities including:

The PA process captures the actual costs incurred to date and the estimated cost to complete response and recovery operations in seven (7) areas:

• Category A: Debris Removal
• Category B: Emergency Protective Actions
• Category C: Road Systems
• Category D: Water Control Facilities
• Category E: Building and Equipment
• Category F: Utilities
• Category G: Parks, Recreational and Other