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:
See Also
What is the appropriate measure of damages?compensatory damagesHow Do Insurers Value a Personal Injury Claim in California?What Are the Types of Damages I Can Get Compensated For?- 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:
| Cities | Villages | Special Districts |
| Counties | Certain Private Non-Profits | State Agencies |
| Townships | Schools | State Universities |
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
