Introduction to Post-Disaster Assessment Guidance Notes

Concepts and definitions

I. INTRODUCTION

The post-disaster damage and needs assessment methodology, which was initially developed by the
United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC, 2003), is
increasingly recognized as the standard for recovery and reconstruction assessment at national
levels. The ECLAC methodology was further refined, expanded, operationalized and documented in
the guidelines for damage, loss and needs assessment (GFDRR, 2010). At present, this methodology
is the internationally accepted approach in assessing post-disaster damages, losses and needs. It has
been used following disasters in various countries like Bangladesh, Myanmar, Lao PDR and the
Philippines.

A post-disaster assessment (PDA) is a multi-sectoral and multidisciplinary structured approach for

assessing disaster impacts and prioritising recovery and reconstruction needs. It should be led and
undertaken by the government after a disaster, with the collaboration of international development
partners and the private sector. As a synthesis of a Damage and Loss Assessment (DaLA) and a
Human Recovery Needs Assessment (HRNA), which includes a recovery and reconstruction
framework, a PDA is intended to estimate firstly the short-term interventions that are required to
initiate recovery from the damages and losses and secondly the financial requirements of programs
and projects to achieve overall post-disaster recovery, reconstruction and risk management.

The sectors assessed in a PDA are those contained in the national accounting system such as
agriculture, industry, trade and services and the corresponding sub-sectors under them. Various
experts like engineers, economists, statisticians, etc. who have knowledge on the valuation and
estimation of damages, losses and needs in a sector should be members of the assessment team for
that given sector. With a standardized assessment procedure across sectors, priorities in recovery
and reconstruction activities can be determined by the government in terms of the most affected
sectors of the economy, geographical areas of the country and population groups.

Specifically, a PDA should show the following:

1. Total value of destroyed physical assets and of changes (losses) in the flows of production of
goods and services;
2. Ownership of the above: public and private sectors;
3. Identification of most affected sectors;
4. Spatial or geographical distribution of disaster effects;
5. Impact of disaster at macro-economic, sectoral and at personal/household levels;
6. Estimation of post-disaster needs for recovery, reconstruction and disaster risk reduction
measures.

The PDA methodology described in this document is firmly based on the internationally accepted
post-disaster needs assessment (PDNA) approach, including the DaLA methodology advocated by

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GFDRR. However, the methodology has been adapted and expanded for the situation in the
Philippines.

II. CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS

The identification of post disaster needs is based on the scope and extent of damages, losses and
their impacts. The DaLA assesses the post-disaster damages and losses based on (pre-disaster)
baseline data collected ideally before a disaster has occurred.

The PDNA process typically follows the structure as depicted in Figure 1.

Post-Disaster Assessment
Damage
Data

DaLA Analysis of Human Recovery

Disaster Impacts Needs Asst.
Damages Macro-economic Reconstruction
Losses Recovery
Personal/Household

Social/Poverty DRR

Baseline
Data

Figure 1. Conceptual Framework of the PDA. DRR: Disaster Risk Reduction

General Definitions

1. Damages refer to the value of affected assets (stock) like physical assets or infrastructure, final
goods, raw materials, equipment and other properties. They would occur at the time of the
disaster or shortly after the disaster and estimated in terms of physical units of assets that may
be totally or partially destroyed. Damages are valued as either the:

a. Replacement cost of totally destroyed assets. Replacement cost is the value of the asset
before it was totally destroyed (pre-disaster value). This value can be estimated by:
o the market value of the asset before destruction;
o acquisition cost less depreciation;
o insurance value.
b. Repair cost of partially damaged assets. Repair cost is the amount required to put the
asset back into its condition just before its partial destruction.

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Hence, the damages are the costs of bringing back the affected structures, equipment, machinery
and other assets up to their pre-disaster levels or state. The following can be taken as a general
guide for classification:
 Totally destroyed. Structures, equipment, educational materials, etc. which are visibly
completely destroyed or unusable and need replacement. Included also are structures
that have suffered irreparable structural damage and need total rebuilding or new
construction.
 Partially damaged. Affected structures, equipment, educational materials, etc that can
be repaired or reused and whose structural integrity has not been compromised.
Examples are for instance windows or desks that are repairable; wet books that can be
used after drying; etc.
The engineers in the assessment team could decide whether a structure is totally destroyed or
partially damaged while, for instance, educators can determine the extent of damage to
instructional materials.

2. Losses refer to the value of foregone income (flows) that were affected such as production
declines, reduced incomes and increased expenditures over a time period until the economy and
assets are recovered. Losses, whether public or private, are the values or the amount in pre-
disaster prices, of:
 Foregone income opportunities , for instance:
o total loss of crops or reduction in farm output;
o income reduction from businesses, rent, etc.
o income losses from public facilities and firms like airports, ports, state-owned
enterprises, etc.
 Higher operating costs: additional expenses to produce same output of goods and/or
services during the recovery phase, for instance:
o cost of replanting new crops;
o cost of temporary power and/or water supply; rent of temporary offices by firms,
etc.
 Unexpected expenses, for instance:
o cleaning up of debris;
o unexpected expenses for temporary shelters, water supply, medicines, food, etc.

3. Impacts. Based on the information provided by the DaLA (refer to Figure 1) an analysis of
disaster impacts at different levels is carried out.

 Macroeconomic impacts
Depending on the structure of damage and losses caused by a disaster and the size and
structure of the affected economy, economic growth may be affected at varying degrees.
However, losses in production and revenue may be partially compensated due to
government intervention for economic recovery and investment in reconstruction. Recovery
of growth varies over time depending on the severity of losses, the speed of reconstruction
and recovery program implementation, and the size and diversification of the affected
economy.

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 The following macroeconomic impacts will be assessed in the PDA:
o Impact on gross domestic product or gross regional domestic product (GDP or GRDP),
including an assessment of relative impacts on various sectors.
o Impact on Fiscal Budget: as a result of the disaster, government revenues may decline
(lower economic activity resulting in lower tax collections), while expenditures will
increase.
o Impact on Balance of Trade and Payments: exports may decrease due to production
losses, while imports may increase to replace lost assets and production.
o Impacts of economic and monetary policies enacted by the government, such as price
controls and tax exemptions granted.

 Social impacts
The social impact assessment (SIA) addresses the impacts at the household and individual
level. This is to be carried out for each relevant sector of the DaLA, as many sectoral impacts
are also impacts on household and individuals. For instance, declines in income due to loss
of employment and poverty should be assessed, as well as impacts on education, health and
nutrition of children.

The SIA is carried out through an assessment of quantitative data collected in the DaLA, as
well as a qualitative rapid assessment using focus group discussions and key informant
interviews using standardized questionnaires. The qualitative assessment also addresses
issues such as the impact of the disaster on how community members live, work and relate
to each other, how they participate in community life and how they relate to institutions and
policies.

Gender impacts are summarized in the SIA, but should be addressed throughout the PNA.
The analysis should address topics such as double burden on women and increased
vulnerability, among other issues. Data gathered broken down by gender is normally used in
gender analysis.

 Environmental impacts
Impacts on the environment should cover the possible effects on bio-diversity, air and
terrestrial pollution as well as other aspects related to the eco-systems. Environmental
impacts often affect recovery and reconstruction, as loss of natural resources also affects
people using these. Quantification of environmental damages and losses is, however,
complicated and a more qualitative assessment is proposed in the present Guidance Notes.

 Disaster risk
Disasters may increase the vulnerabilities of certain sectors, areas and population groups.
For instance, the destruction of dikes may increase the flood vulnerability of factories or a
community in the next typhoon season. On the other hand, the structural strength of vital
infrastructure like hospitals and school buildings could have been weakened after an
earthquake making them vulnerable to future earthquakes. Such situations should be
identified in a PDA.

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4. Needs. The DaLA and analysis of disaster impacts provide the basis for the recovery and
reconstruction needs including the Human Recovery Needs Assessment (HRNA). The PDA should
also include possible measures to mainstream Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) in post-disaster
recovery and reconstruction plans.

Recovery programs are required to restore personal and family income, essential services or
lifelines, and production activities in affected sectors, amongst others. The recovery needs are
determined by sector and they are usually urgent, short-term needs to restore pre-disaster
conditions as soon as possible, such as:
 Restoration of basic services (housing, water, power, etc.)
 Enabling farmers to start replanting
 Resumption of transportation facilities
 Re-opening of businesses

Reconstruction needs are longer-term needs, such as:

 New infrastructure like relocation of buildings, airports, houses; new road diversions, etc.
 Preparedness and mitigation like dikes, weather forecasting, development of new building
codes, land use plans, etc.

The bases for reconstruction needs are the damage estimations. In brief, the estimation of
reconstruction needs is made through the use of the following formula:

Needs = Value of damage + quality/technological improvement + mitigation measures + multi-

annual inflation

However, a policy framework needs to be established and agreed by all stakeholders for each sector
to determine and address the post-disaster situation. This policy framework can, for instance,
include disaster risk reduction measures or address long-standing development problems.
Furthermore, technological progress, quality improvements and inflation need to be accounted for.

Organization

The assessment should be led and owned by the government and can be supported by development
partners. If the disaster area covers one region, the OCD Regional Office can lead the PDNA with
other regional agencies. If the disaster area covers more than one region, the OCD Central Office can
lead the PDA.

The PDA involves many agencies and expertise. From the onset, responsibilities should be clear as to
which agency or person/s will gather or contribute what information as well as the deadlines for
providing this information.

Initiation and Timing

The PDA should be initiated by the government. The government should decide whether or not a
full-blown PDA is needed after a disaster. This decision can be initiated based on certain criteria,
such as the number of provinces and people that have been affected, the scope and extent of effects

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on specific sectors and a presidential declaration of a state of calamity or emergency. A clear
instruction should be given, for instance by the chairperson of NDRRMC, to start the PDA.

The PDA should not begin until humanitarian assistance stage is completed or well underway. In the
initial stages after a disaster, priority must be given to emergency assistance and resources are
usually utilized for emergency activities. However, the assessment should not be unnecessarily
delayed as there is an urgent need to elicit support from the international community, whose
attention may quickly be diverted in other parts of the world. Similarly, the national government
must soon have an overview of funding and resources required for recovery and reconstruction.

The indicative time schedule with chronological sequence of PDA activities is shown in the following
table.

Activities Month 1 Month 2

Week Week
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Emergency Stage X X
 Search and rescue X
 Evacuation X X
 Food supply X X
Post-emergency phase
 Decision to conduct PDA (by NDRRMC) X
 Organizational arrangements (by NDRRMC and RDRRMC) X
Activities of Participating Agencies
 Organizing of assessment team X
 Step 1. Collecting / updating baseline information regional level X X
 Coordination with and briefing of regional offices and LGUs X
 Step 2. Start field visits for damage and loss assessment X X
o Assessment of government assets X X
o Assessment of private assets X X
o Summarizing overall damages and losses X
 Step 3. Validation of results to avoid duplication w. other sectors X
 Step 4. Impact analysis X
 Step 5. Provide impact analysis to:
o Macroeconomic impacts to NEDA X
o Social impact analysis to DSWD X
o Environmental impacts to DENR X
o DRRM impacts to OCD X
 Step 6. Estimate recovery and reconstruction needs X
 Step 7. Provide NEDA w. list of recovery & reconstruction projects X
 Step 8. Analyze financing options X
 Step 9. Draft implementation plans for the projects X
 Step 10. Draft the sectoral PDA report and submit to OCD X X
 Draft overall PDA report by OCD X

In carrying out a PDA, there should be a balance between speed and accuracy. Speed is more
important than 100% accuracy. Nevertheless, a PDNA should aim for highest possible accuracy under

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the given circumstances by combining the best available professionals, best available information
and an adequate and reliable methodological tool for assessment.

Composition of the assessment team

The composition of the assessment team depends on the sectors to be assessed. Since it makes
estimations of destruction of physical assets and of changes in the flow of socio-economic activities,
the team should include architects and engineers, sociologists, economists, statistician and experts
in the sector that will be assessed. It should also include other professionals that are well acquainted
with the assessment methodology and with the socio-economic conditions of the affected areas.

From the government side, officials belonging to the line agencies covering all sectors of the
economy, such as those from the statistical agency, finance, economic and social planning agencies,
should participate in the assessment. Their respective roles and tasks will depend on their
institutional mandate and structure. The steps in undertaking a PDA for specific sectors are
discussed in the following Guidance Notes.

Data collection for a PNA

One of the most important tasks of the assessment team is collection accurate and reliable data.
This can be challenging, especially in a post-disaster situation, and even pre-disaster base data may
not be readily available for several sectors. The assessment team should consider as many sources of
data as possible, such as online data (news and publications, databases, maps, remote sensing data,
etc.), official publications from for instance the National Statistics Office, internal documents of
departments and ministries, experts, local staff of government offices and NGOs, etc. During field
visits it is also important to make visual observations of damages and losses, in addition to data
collection at municipal and barangay offices. If no data can be found, expert opinion and
guestimates can be used, though it is always important to clearly state data sources when doing
reporting.

References

ECLAC, 2003. Handbook for Estimating the Socio-economic and Environmental Effects of Disasters.
United Nations, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank.

GFDRR, 2010. Damage, Loss and Needs Assessment, Guidance Notes. The International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank, Washington (3 volumes).

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