Disaster Assessment

Disaster Assessment
Disaster Assessment is the process of determining the extent of damage done to human life, property, natural and/or man made resources.

Disaster assessment is essiental to ascertain the cause, its effect, estimated response time to counter the situation, the need of rehabilitation, steps to provide maximum possible assistance to the people affected by it. The damaged site could be public, individual, nonprofit organization or even damage to natural resource.

Phases in Disaster Assessment
Disaster assessment can be broadly distributed in

Forewarning Phase – In this the readiness of the population/public to face any calamity is considered and assessment of action plan to counter the disaster.

Crisis Phase – This is the crucial phase where the actual extent of damage is assessed, prioritization of the actions/response is defined and identification of all possible & available resources done.

Rehabilitation Phase – After the disaster has struck it is very important to make sure that the affected people are rehabilitated. Rehabilitation includes identification of immediate needs of people, policies of the local bodies and additional help requirement. Monitoring of the aids provided by national/International community and its effectiveness to bring the life back to normal is part of this phase.

Revival Phase – This phase includes identification of damage done resources which are economic significance, its impact on the growth program and policies and scope of new development opportunity created due to disaster.

Disaster Assessment Procedure
Assessment should be meticulously designed and handled. Disaster assessment procedure includes series of steps which should be planned with great detail. Below is a broad overview of steps and is not a comprehensive/exhaustive list.

1. Identification of data needed from reliable resource for assessment.

2. Gathering of data.

3. Data analysis and interpretation to make it into useful information.

4. Final report generation with predictions & alternative approaches for future.

GIS for Disaster Assessment
Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote sensing are powerful tools for damage assessment. Some of the ways in which GIS can help in damage assessment are:

- A GIS database along with Map and Satellite imagery helps in fast and accurate analysis of the damage and help in contingency planning to minimize the effect of a disaster in future.

- GIS analysis facilitates quick decision making and efficient coordination amongst various departments.

- A GIS data model can help in estimating potential damage to the property.

- The location where aid has to be provided can be quickly identified on the Map. In case of a disaster, routing and selection can help in quick evacuation of people.