INTRODUCTION TO DAMAGE AND NEEDS ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY AND BASIC CONCEPTS

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INTRODUCTION TO DAMAGE AND NEEDS
ASSESSMENTMETHODOLOGY AND BASIC CONCEPTS

• Ricardo Zapata Marti
• UN ECLAC

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PURPOSES OF DISASTER VALUATION

• Serve as a means to mobilize external
  cooperation, assistance and loans
• Become a tool in policy formulation and
  post-disaster resource allocation
• Become a tool in long-term risk mitigation
  strategy setting
• Determine needs for reconstruction and mitigation
  
• Create historical record

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INFORMATION NEEDS OF DISASTER VALUATION

• Type
• Contribution of analysts in all sectors of the
  economy, as well as social scientists
• Geographically specific information
• Final analysis must have both disaggregated and
  national accounting versions
• Sources
• Ex ante data (pre-existing conditions, baselines)
• Ex-post data (on the basis of numerous sources
  and estimates from the affected population to
  economic, social and environmental effects. Can
  be both primary and second-hand.)

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DISASTERS FRAMEWORK FOR VALUATION
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VULNERABILITY

• Vulnerability Exposure to risks given the
  existing institutional and socioeconomic
  situation, manifested in
• Marginalization,
• Informal housing and economy,
• Poverty,
• Conditions in human settlements and the situation
  of productive activities (primary, industrial,
  tertiary or services) their linkage internally
  and with the environment.

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PHASES IN A DISASTER

• The disaster cycle
• EMERGENCY
• REHABILITATION
• RECONSTRUCTION
• PREVENTION AND MITIGATION
• ALERT AND PREPARATION

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THE DISASTER CYCLE AND NEEDS ASSESSMENT

• Emergency
• In the immediate aftermath, priority is to save
  lives
• Assessment efforts can begin affected
  population, deaths, wounded, missing, direct
  damages to property and infrastructure, both
  public and private.

• Rehabilitation
• Priority is to return activities in the affected
  area to normal.
• Assessment of direct and indirect damages can
  begin, and an appraisal should be initiated of
  secondary effects.

• Reconstruction
• Priority is to implement mitigation so that
  pre-disaster vulnerability is not rebuilt.
• Ex construction projects modify pre-existing
  infrastructure and environmental conditions that
  led to damage by the disaster.

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CONNECTING THE CYCLE THE LINK BETWEEN NEEDS
ASSESSMENT AND MITIGATION

• Mitigation measures rely on specific information
  provided by the needs assessment
• Mitigation includes
• Allocating resources toward institutional,
  organizational and structural measures
• Training and organization, including at the
  community level
• Devising early warning systems
• Ownership of actions is fundamental to build
  trust

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TIMELINESS AND ACCURACY OF VALUATION

• Window of need Window of opportunity
• Timely response to needs
• Valuation must aim to reduce disaster impact and
  avoid reconstruction of preexisting vulnerability
• Assessment must be done in time to mobilize
  necessary internal and / or external resources to
  help
• Accuracy
• Valuation must aim to ensure comparability and
  methodological consistency, and
• To be acceptable by technical standards
• Judgment calls, assumptions and indirect
  calculations are necessary
• The acceptable margin of error is 10-12
• Valuation must nonetheless be accurate enough to
  attract investment and projects

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DISASTER VALUATION CONCEPTS

• Direct damages
• Impact on assets
• Infrastructure
• Capital
• Stocks
• Occur immediately during or after the phenomenon
  that caused the disaster

• Indirect Damages
• Effects on flows
• Production
• Reduced income and increased expenses
• Are perceived after the phenomenon, for a
  time-period that can last from weeks to months,
  till recuperation occurs

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SECTOR by SECTOR VALUATION METHODOLOGY

• Social Sectors
• Housing
• Health
• Education, culture, sports
• Infrastructure
• Transport and communications
• Energy
• Water and sewerage

• Productive sectors
• Goods agriculture, industry
• Services commerce, tourism, etc.
• Global impact
• On the environment
• Gender perspective
• Employment and social conditions
• Macroeconomic assessment

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SOCIAL SECTOR

• Each social groups degree of vulnerability to a
  natural disaster is different, and the severity
  of negative impact of natural disasters is as
  directly related to social inequalities and
  deprivations as to the natural hazard itself.
• A Social Impact Assessment (SIA) can be crucial
  in determining
• what mitigation is necessary
• what mitigation alternatives exist
• which mitigation strategies are most likely to
  work
• Accurate assessments of impacts should pay
  attention to gendered differentials and must be
  based on sound pre-existing socio-demographic
  data

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DYNAMIC GLOBAL EFFECTS

• Macroeconomic effects
• Repercussions on the national or regional economy
  after disaster
• The duration of repercussions depending on the
  characteristics and magnitude of disaster
• The effects are reflected by
• Gross Domestic Product growth
• Performance of the external sector
• Evolution of public finance
• Increases of prices and inflation

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DISASTER RISK REDUCTION

• Internal policies
• - Include vulnerability reduction as an objective
  of development plans alongside goals of
• Competitive growth
• Equitable development
• Sustainable and sustained development
• Social participation
• External policies
• Introduce risk management as part of the
  regional/international agenda, alongside
• External competitive insertion
• Benefiting from the globalization process
• Inclusive regional insertion

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DISASTER RISK REDUCTION

• Sectoral components
• Monitoring, analysis and climate forecasting,
  including at the local level
• Contingency plans in key sectors, for example
• Agriculture, cattle raising,
• Rural poverty,
• Energy and baselines
• Water and health
• Interconnected systems
• Regulation of basic services with sponsorship of
  private enterprise
• Focused plans for vulnerable groups, including
  for employment, food availability and nutrition
• Education to reduce vulnerability