Assessing Damage After Disasters PDF

Assessing Damage after Disasters
A Participatory Framework and Toolkit

Assessing Damage After Disasters
- A Participatory Framework & Toolkit
Acknowledgments:
Financial Support: Cordaid, The Netherlands
Guidance and Advice: Binoy Acharya
Editorial Support: Arun Kumar
Photo Credits: UNNATI, Hunnarshala, NCPDP and Rushank Mehta
Authors: Vivek Rawal

Dinesh Prajapati
2007
UNNATI - Organisation for Development Education
Design: Rajesh Patel
Printer: Print Vision, Ahmedabad

A Participatory Framework and Toolkit
Vivek Rawal
Dinesh Prajapati
Contents
Introduction v
How to Use the Toolkit vii
Multi Sectoral Damage Assessment Framework ix
Chapter 1 Assessing Loss and Damage to Human Life 1
Chapter 2 Assessing Damage to Housing 9
Chapter 3 Assessing Damage to Community Infrastructure 19
Chapter 4 Assessing Damage to the Environment 27
Chapter 5 Assessing Loss of Livelihood 37
Chapter 6 Assessing Impact on Health 45
Chapter 7 Assessing the Psycho-social Impact 53
The impact of disasters on women 60
End Note 62
Glossary 63
References 65
Introduction
Disasters impact various dimensions of human life, both short term and
long lasting. They can cause huge damage to human life, living conditions,
social relationships, economic endeavours, goods and services, assets and
environment. In the past, experiences of humanitarian response have
shown that most of the times response is determined more by logistical
capacities and other institutional factors of delivery agencies; rather
than real needs of the affected communities. Damage Assessment, after
any disaster, is a step of critical importance. A comprehensive and
effective damage assessment is critical in planning the response to
address the needs of the affected people and can avoid any potential
humanitarian crisis. Various studies have shown that in the past few
decades, the costs of disasters have multiplied manifold. In recent
years, there is a growing awareness on issues of disaster risks and
damages and the need to strengthen the efforts for meeting
humanitarian needs with a developmental perspective. Not only are
preventive and mitigation measures required, but also the response and
recovery need to be planned with a view to reduce vulnerability in future.
Any post-disaster response is based on an assessment of damages to
understand the nature and extent of impact on various aspects of human
life and living conditions. From the past experiences, it has been learnt
that damages are measurable, but without getting in to the subjective
dimensions, the human sufferings can not be fully understood.
v
This booklet has been developed with the objective to give field practitioners working in
post-disaster humanitarian response, a participatory and vulnerability focused
framework and appropriate effective tools to carry out the multi-sectoral damage
assessment. The purpose of developing this toolkit has been to support a comprehensive
understanding of the impact in a participatory manner. It is our hope that the toolkit
will equip multi-disciplinary teams with a range of tools and techniques that are
intensive, iterative and participatory- to gather useful and accurate information of
various types of damages after 3 to 4 weeks of disaster. It will bring about greater
reliability, accuracy and help build community consensus on issues of nature and extent
of impact. Use of participatory methodology will further build accountability of
humanitarian actions towards the affected community.
Drawing upon various methodologies in different sectors such as housing, infrastructure,

social & economic sectors, this toolbook tries to help consolidate information aspects of
various damages and simplify it for use at the grassroots during humanitarian needs. The
effort in this guidebook has been to cover major losses and damage in different sectors
and explain the need for required information. It further suggests a tentative format
and appropriate tools for collection of the required information. Although this document
concentrates on assessing losses from some natural hazards like earthquake, cyclone,
floods and tsunami, the principles and much of the supporting material would apply to
assessments of loss from other hazards as well. This guide only suggests a general
overview and basic assessment tools and methodologies that help align the process of
post disaster recovery with a community empowerment perspective. It may not be
possible to classify all types of losses or damages into categories discussed in this guide.
But most aspects of the damages are covered. This book draws working tools from
knowledge gained through responses in past disasters by various agencies, PRA
processes and our own field experiences of post disaster reconstruction. Suggestions or
comments, if any, should be forwarded to UNNATI.
vi
How to Use the Toolkit
'Assessing Damage after Disasters- A Participatory Framework and

Toolkit' focuses on various impacts on human and social life. It
identifies the need for information in different sectors and methods to
collect these. This guide may not cover all types of information about
the disaster impacts but will give a definite and credible overview of
different dimensions and extent of damage while identifying the critical
vulnerabilities. This manual may be useful for NGOs, Local Governing
Institutions and humanitarian workers engaged in planning and
responding in post-disaster situations.
The toolbook is organised in the following manner:
The first section identifies the key concepts related to the damage
assessment framework. The subsequent sections are devoted to damage
assessment of
§ Loss & damage to Human Life
§ Damage to housing
§ Damage to community infrastructure
§ Damage to environment
§ Livelihood losses
§ Impact on health
§ Psycho-social impact
vii
Each type of damage is discussed in form of three main questions.
§ What do we need to know?
§ Why do we need to know?
§ How can we know?
Through these questions, the toolkit elaborates the various aspects in each
sector that may be impacted and the information that needs to be
collected. Sector wise tentative formats and appropriate methods have
been suggested to support this process.
The toolkit can only help in capturing the extent of damage by quantitative
and qualitative information. It does not cover the economic valuation of
the same. Here, it will be appropriate to mention that damage assessment
methodology has to have flexibility to be relevant in specific context and
therefore, the methods, tools and formats provided in this guide are not
to be considered rigidly. At some places particularly while discussing the
assessment tools, some words from vernacular indian context have been
used. The same have been explained in the glossary. Efforts to understand
the underlying concept, modifications and alterations must be made
according to the context in which the toolkit is proposed to be used. This
book hopes to provide a framework for such use.
viii
Multi Sectoral
Damage Assessment Framework
As we know that disasters affect various aspects of human life, the
damage assessment framework has to take an integral view based on an
understanding of various sectors. The different dimensions of life are
inter-related. The recovery after the disaster depends on coping with
various impacts of the disaster. For example, housing reconstruction is
linked with livelihood rehabilitation and these engagements can be
therapeutic for overcoming mental trauma. This indicates that our
understanding of the impacts has to be comprehensive and multi-
sectoral.
The framework for damage assessment needs to be participatory in

nature and involve the communities that have been affected, so that
people can make decisions about the recovery process. The damage
assessment framework in this manual is based on certain key concepts of
vulnerability reduction, social inclusion, community participation and
gender equality. It is important to understand these key concepts, so
that wherever required, the methods and tools of damage assessment
can be customised as per the contextual needs.
ix
KEY CONCEPTS
Vulnerability Reduction of the vulnerability to disasters.

Development programmes, all over
Vulnerability is the likelihood of the world, are trying to
harm and damage to life or mainstream disaster mitigation
conditions conducive for the aspects. Similarly, there is
well being. The vulnerability may increased realisation amongst
exist due to many reasons such humanitarian workers that post-
as geographic location, physical disaster response and recovery
state, social exclusion and initiatives should be planned with
marginalisation, economic the perspective of reducing the
instability or environmental vulnerabilities of the affected
conditions. The disaster impact communities. Therefore it is
is directly proportional to the required that the damage
vulnerability. Vulnerability is assessment is done with the
also weakness and lack of perspective that there can be
capacity to overcome clear targeting of the vulnerable
consequences of disaster members of the community during
impacts. In the past few years, the response. The categories of
there has been an improvement vulnerable families should be
in understanding to accord identified in consultation with the
greater importance to reduction local communities. This process
x
may identify families such as inclusive approach not only in
widows, orphans, old aged, terms of the outcomes of the
physically or mentally policy but also in terms of
challenged, chronically ill, HIV participation in the process of
positive, pregnant women, decision-making. The idea of
landless labourers, etc. social inclusion is extremely
significant during the damage
Social Inclusion assessment to ensure equal
benefits of the public policy to all
The concerns of exclusion and the affected members of the
marginalisation arise from the society. It is important that all
structural inequities that exist excluded and marginalised
in our communities and the sections of the society are
social set-up. The inequities identified and are focused on
within the communities, leading during the damage assessment.
to differential access to
resources and opportunities for Community Participation
economic and social actions may
be due to many traditional, For the objective of effective
customary or historic reasons post disaster response,
and are further strengthened involvement of the affected
by the present socio-political stakeholders in damage
and economic processes. Social assessment is critical. The idea of
Inclusion aims at positive participation involves information,
actions contributing towards consultation, decision making and
removal of these inequities. So collective action. It essentially, is
it is important to focus on an rooted in the idea of empowering
xi
people, so as to build Gender Perspective
community's capacities and
provide a facilitative Gender relations as a part of the
environment to participate social and cultural context,
effectively in the process. determine the extent of resilience
Damage assessment process too or vulnerability during the
has to develop a methodology disasters and shape the commu-
that involves affected nity's capacity to cope with it.
community and its various
stakeholders. Participatory Women's economic activities are
processes ensure that the less visible. The primary
affected community is not responsibility of caring for
merely a passive recipient of children, elderly and the disabled
relief and rehabilitation is also borne by women.
projects; but is engaged in Therefore, gender analysis in the
gaining control over the damage assessment is an
processes of rebuilding their important tool. There is increasing
own lives. In situations where evidence from various studies that
the community may have been women are impacted more in any
overwhelmed with disaster, the disaster situation. It is,
damage assessment process can therefore, important to get
create facilitative mechanisms gender disaggregated data so that
for supporting the affected an inclusive approach can be
community to regain their hope. developed.
xii
SCOPE AND OBJECTIVES
With the above key concepts, damage assessment focuses on

vulnerability and contributes towards reducing it through response and
development programming. Before we get into details of multi-sectoral
assessment and the tools required for it, let's look at the objectives of
such an assessment.
Post-disaster damage assessment can be broadly divided in two parts

first, situation assessment and second, needs assessment. The first
part focuses more on description of the situation on the ground,
depicting magnitude and impact of disaster on population and
infrastructure. It basically answers the question- “what has happened?”
The second part tries to articulate level and type of assistance required
for the affected population. It focuses on the question- “what needs to
be done?” The damage assessment covers the nature and extent of a
disaster, priority needs of the affected community, particularly the
vulnerable people. It must provide the extent and type of damage and
identify secondary threats, resource availability and the capacity of
local response. Finally, the assessment process should make
recommendations that define and guide further actions, interventions
and resources needed to formulate long-term rehabilitation or
developmental strategies. The post-disaster assessment is taken up at
different time intervals, once immediately and then after some time, to
xiii
fully understand the damage and its impact on various aspects of life.
Initial rapid assessment is to determine relief and immediate needs
and to understand the broad pattern of the damages. The focus of
this manual is the detailed Multi Sectoral Assessment that is
conducted after some time to determine long term recovery and
development requirements. It is usually conducted about fifteen days
to a month after the disaster depending on accessibility and status
of immediate needs. It covers critical sectors in terms of long term
recovery such as housing and infrastructure, livelihoods, environment
and psycho-social aspects and tries to estimate the quantum of
damage. It can also identify the needs for external assistance.
In the following chapters, damage assessment framework for various

critical sectors based on these key concepts is presented. The
damage assessment framework tries to identify and measure tangible
damages caused immediately and their long term manifestations. The
intangible damages are also identified but it may not always be
possible to measure its quantum and put an economic value to it. One
could possibly attempt modeling exercises, which are not covered
here. The overall purpose is to develop a framework which can guide
us to arrive at a comprehensive understanding of the damage. It is
important that the damage assessment process and tools are
transparent, flexible, adaptable, credible, inclusive and participatory.
xiv
1
Chapter
Assessing Loss and Damage

to Human Life
The loss of human lives affects many
other aspects of the lives of the
survivors which are critical for a
dignified living.
What we need to Assessment Methodology and Tools
know and why Informal Secondary Information
Discussions Sources Compilation
Assessing Loss and

Damage to Human Life
Safety of human life is one of the prime objective of any humanitarian
action. The life of any human being is invaluable for the family, friends
and for the larger community and social groups. Risk to human life during
natural disasters varies depending on factors such as gender, age, social
status, etc. The inequalities, poverty and other social imbalances
contribute to this risk. The disaster may not cause deaths but injury or
disability and stress and trauma to the affected persons. This has grave
ramifications on the lives of the affected, their relatives and friends.
Besides such impact, the loss of human lives may affect other aspects
of the lives of the survivors that may be necessary for dignified living
such as ability of the families to earn and the loss of care and protection
providers. This loss due to the natural disasters is most overwhelming
and brings focused attention to the region. The loss of human life shapes
the humanitarian response, as this is the greatest loss that any affected
region has to bear. The loss of human life, therefore, is the most critical
part of any damage assessment. The following section focuses on varying
degrees of such losses in the event of natural disaster.
3
WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW AND WHY
The first information regarding this loss is to determine the baseline

data related to the number of families residing in the affected area,
where the damage assessment is being undertaken. The loss and damage
to human life can be understood by its varying extent such as i) deaths,
ii) permanent disabilities, iii) major injuries, iv) minor injuries and v)
missing. Details of minor injury, major injury and permanent disability
are essential to formulate immediate care and support system; as well as
to plan long-term support and follow-up mechanisms. In cases of death or
injury, information like death certificate by police or authorities, injury
certificate by hospital or the government doctor is needed for
government support or compensation. Similarly, in case of missing people,
it is important to understand if legalities like police complaint have been
registered or not, which may be essential for the affected families to
access government assistance. It is also important to know whether they
have received government assistance or compensation to cope with the
distress.
Data should be segregated gender wise, age wise or occupation wise to

develop deeper understanding. Details of occupation also provide a hint
of economic status of families. Similarly, details of family members of
the affected person are essential; as it enables us to determine the
number of earning members and dependents within the family. It might
be possible that a person, who has died or has become permanently
disabled, was the only earning member of the family. It would enable us
4
to understand the family structure (nuclear family or joint family) and

their support system. It also gives information relating to woman headed
family or old age family.
When we assess loss of life, it is important to pay attention to certain

special groups of people who tend to get left out in the enumeration
process. Migrant workers, tourists and travelers or unregistered
informal sector workers may be difficult to estimate because of the lack
of such records. After disasters, it may be difficult to ascertain the
accurate figures of such groups. In the aftermath of disaster, some
times locals leave or evacuate the place for long time, even such people
sometimes are left out in enumeration due to the lack of reliable
sources of information. All this information helps in the effective
targeting of the humanitarian response.
ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY & TOOLS
Though assessing the loss of life should not be such a complex task,
reality suggests otherwise. Past experience shows that usually the
official figures about the loss are either underestimated or
overestimated. After the Gujarat earthquake, it was mentioned that
nearly 100000 deaths had occurred; which was soon corrected by the
Government to be around 30000. The Government of India, after one
month, put this figure at 19727. However, the Gujarat State Disaster
Management Authority states the number of reported deaths to be
13805. It is, therefore, essential to have an assessment methodology
5
that uses the community information and is credible for the

humanitarian response planners. Following assessment tools and
methodologies are proposed for assessing loss of human life.
Informal Discussions
Assessing loss of life is a difficult task for the field practitioners

because at the time of assessment, the community may be under severe
trauma. It is, therefore, very important to have an empathetic attitude
and support the people in such difficult times. Instead of making the
assessment through structured participatory tools, it is best to go
around in the village and meet people informally, to understand the
extent of the loss. It is important to transect through the village and go
to areas inhabited by different community groups to be with them. It is
very important to understand the demographic context of the village,
particularly with regard to informal workers, travelers, visitors and
migrants to get an idea of the death toll. Informal discussions with the
people about the tragic event will slowly reveal the number of human lives
lost. At the time of making such assessments after disaster, it is

important to ensure that any social-cultural ritual, if being undertaken by

the community, during such period is respected and empathy expressed.
Similarly, an empathetic attitude is necessary even while enquiring about
injuries and the injured. It is also necessary that the field practitioners
do not hurry finishing the assessment; and instead proceed at a pace
that does not disturb the affected community.
6
Secondary Sources
Collecting information from secondary sources is also important. Loss of

life is estimated by community institutions, media and the Government
and many a time they may come up with different figures. It is
important that the damage assessment report mentions all the figures
published under different sources. These figures may be based on
community's own estimate, media assessment, local government
functionary's report, etc. As the time passes, the number of deaths and
missing becomes clearer. The purpose of the damage assessment tools is
not to arrive at one particular number by applying any logic or rationale,
but to understand the context and extent. The accurate numbers in a
specific location may be found out through a community based survey
once the community has begun to recover and is in a position to deal with
the loss.
7
Information Compilation
From these sources - informal discussions and secondary reports, the

information about various human life damages should be compiled. The
government data that is available from the district or local officials should be
obtained and shared with the village to ensure appropriate confirmation. As the
community may be under severe trauma due to bereavement and injuries to their
loved ones, any dialogue must be conducted sensitively. Addition of more
information may be useful for the entitlement and monitoring of the response
programme by the community. This stage of compilation can go a long way in
ensuring inclusion of the marginalised community members.
Name of the main Detail of deaths, missing and injury Government

Family survivor of the family
(mention both male S.N. Relation to Permanent Major Minor assistance
No. Name Age Sex Death Missing
and female) the survivor disabilities injury injury Yes No
1. 1.
2.
3.
8
2
Chapter
Assessing
Damage to Housing
The quality of construction, materials
used, construction technology, type of
dwelling, location, etc. contribute to the
vulnerability of built structures and
affect the extent of damage.
know and why Habitat Village Photographic Household
Mapping Transect Documentation Level Survey
Assessing Damage
to Housing Good housing conditions are a prerequisite for the well-being of a family.
Housing is not only a shelter for a family to live in, but also in many
cases, a setting for an economic enterprise. The catastrophic events can
cause varying degrees of damage to houses depending on various factors.
The quality of construction, materials used, construction technology,
type of dwelling, location, etc. contribute to the vulnerability of built
structures and affect the extent of damage. The restoration of
respectable habitat for the affected families is usually one of the
primary objectives of humanitarian response. To ensure reduction of
vulnerable constructions in the post-disaster period, an assessment of
the extent and type of housing damage is required. The following section
focuses on the information needed to understand various attributes of
people's housing that might be affected by disaster.
The geographic location of the settlement is the first information

needed to understand the impact of the disaster. The location describes
its setting with respect to land forms and proximity to natural features
such as lakes, rivers or sea. The assessment should further elaborate, in
terms of urban or rural, size, typology on the basis of design and
structural system, types of ownership and functional usage, etc.
Additionally, information about the average dwelling size, average
number of inhabitants per dwelling unit and average area should also be
11
collected. The number of dwellings in the affected area needs to be

determined, specifying in each case whether they are single- or multi-
family, owned by men or women, as freehold, state conferred or
customary title, rented or without title. The issues like land title and
tenancy are important to understand for planning for housing.
The houses need to be categorised based on the extent of damage. This

helps in formulating a suitable response. Participation of the affected
people in the process of enumeration is essential, as recovery policies
and responses are based on this database. Number of houses affected
and the extent of damage may be categorised as; i) Completely
destroyed houses or the buildings which are beyond repair; ii) Partially
damaged houses which are repairable; iii) Houses with minor damage and
iv) Undamaged houses. The indicators for such categorisation may
require inputs from housing professionals. This assessment should also
identify the various prevalent construction materials and techniques.
Information on quality of existing dwellings, disaggregated by its
conditions or the type of construction materials (mud, bamboo, wood,
brick, reinforced concrete, etc.) can help us in estimating financial,
material and skill resources required for reconstruction. Damage

depends on both the types of disaster and the type of construction.
Poorly built dwellings sometimes, even with seemingly so-called strong
materials like RCC, tend to be the hardest hit. These comparisons,
therefore, provide important clues and relation between types of
disaster and vulnerability of shelter for post-disaster reconstruction
and help in developing safety guidelines.
12
Developing an appropriate methodology for housing damage assessment is

one of the most critical aspects of the post-disaster response. As this
information forms the bases of reconstruction assistance to the
affected communities; it needs to be transparent and participatory, so
that affected communities formulate and shape reconstruction
assistance. Often, the information is gathered in a non-transparent
manner. Its inaccessibility to people leads to contestation for
maximisation of benefit by the articulate and the influential members of
the communities. To avoid this, it is important to use a reliable and
people friendly methodology. Some of the tools that are appropriate for
making the housing damage assessment are as follows:
First tool that may be used in the affected area is a transect walk.
Transect walk through the disaster struck village, through its varied
locations and habitations, is very useful for the purpose of
reconnaissance and gives an overview of the extent and type of damage.
It helps us further in customisation of the household survey.
13
What we need to Assessment Methodology
Assessment and Tools
Methodology and Tools
know and why Village Habitat Photographic Household
Transect Mapping Documentation Level Survey
Village Transect
Village transect gives us a

comparative overview of
different parts of village
settlement with regards to
Rabari Patel
Weaver families Dalit families Drain families families the damage that may have
affected the settlement.
Land use Village Small huts Natural Village Houses With this method, it is
house babool trees water drain House shops possible to relate the
Type of damage type and its extent
Semi pucca hutments Hutments Semi pucca Pucca
house houses houses houses to various geographic
aspects. If the damages
Extent of Major repair New Const. New const. Minor Not have any particular pattern,
damage Required reqd. repair affected these can also be identified.
Type of Vertical Total Badly Wall cracks.
The adjacent example shows
damage cracks in collapse Damaged Tilting the houses near the drain
foundation of walls in were primarily huts and due
& plinth some to their vulnerable location
partial cases, mud have collapsed completely.

collapse of walls
wall & roof collapsed On the other hand, the pucca
houses on higher ground,
Problems Flooding Excessive Encroachm Flooding belonging to Patel families,
Low lying wetting of ent near natural are not affected. Such kind
area houses blocking water drain
of analysis can be done using
the water
habitat mapping and the
village transect.
14
Habitat mapping
The next step is to develop a habitat map
using PRA tools and techniques. In large
settlements having varied castes and social
classes, care should be taken to ensure that
Dalit it is done in parts involving different
Families
stakeholders and then collated together.
Rabari
Families Affected houses should then be located on
this social map with the help of the
affected community and a list should be
prepared. This list should be verified with
the local village revenue official and
Darbar variations, if any, must be recorded. By
Families
locating all houses, along with the represen-
tation of damage categories, described
earlier on a map, it is easy to visualize the
hardest hit areas and thus requiring priority
School attention in terms of support. The affected
houses should be numbered, so that when
Weaver detailed information on aspects of size,
Patel Families
Families materials and technology, damage type,
ownership, vulnerability, etc. is collected, it
Patel can be related with the map and shared with
Families the community.
House Type Damage Catagory Vulnerable Catarory
Kutcha House New Const, Required Widow
Semi-Pucca House
Major Repair Physically Challenged
Pucca House
Minor Repair Orphan
Water
Body
Old Age 15
HIV Positive
Big vertical crack near

the window on south wall
Diagonal cracks near the

window on east wall
Collapse of north and west walls of the house. Also partial collapse of concrete
roof slab
Photographic Documentation
Each damaged house should be documented using

Damage to plinth on Damage to internal wall
photographs. These should show damage to south-west corner of kitchen
various parts of the house. This documentation
is important because any Government assistance
or insurance compensation could then use it as a
basis for assessment. It also helps professionals
in advising any repairs or dismantling that may
be required.
Crack between concrete slab and wall visible on east wall
16
Household level Survey
The household level survey helps categorise each structure in the village depending
on its extent of damage. It is proposed that the household level survey is
conducted using the following two formats. The first format builds database on
damage categories and construction materials. The second format is of technical
nature, and identifies various types of damages that may have occurred in
different components of the house. The first format is useful for administrative
policy responses and the second format is useful for identifying technical solutions
for disaster safety in the local context.
Vulnerability Reconstruction Major Minor Present status Type of Materials Details of

S.N. Name category of needed, repair repairs repairs (where they are ownership government
owner not possible required required living) of land Wall Roof support
17
House No.: Name: Address:
Potentially repairable Irrepairable No of places damages

Building component Type of damages
(If yes, mark ü) (If yes, mark ü) has occurred
Foundation and plinth 1.1 Cracks

1.2 Partial destruction
1.3 Scouring
1.4 Settlements
Wall, columns and 2.1 Vertical cracks

openings 2.2 Tilting of wall
2.3 Corner separation
2.4 Partial collapse
2.5 Bulging and delamination
2.6 Diagonal cracks near openings
2.7 Cracks at beam-column junction
2.8 Buckling of columns
Roof 3.1 Cracks

3.2 Partial destruction
3.3 Total destruction
3.4 Cracks near the junctions of
cantilevered elements
3.5 Cracks on separation of roof with
the wall
18
3
Chapter
Assessing Damage to
Community Infrastructure
When essential parts of social life of
the community are affected, it
restricts many important functions of
the community.
know and why Infrastructure Village Photographic
Mapping Level Survey Documentation
Assessing Damage to
Community Infrastructure
The infrastructure required for various goods and services that are
essential for well being of people is frequently damaged due to
disasters and affects people’s lives adversely. Basic services like
drinking water, access roads, sewage disposal, electricity, etc, if
affected can pose, not only difficulties for the community but also
challenges for the humanitarian workers in undertaking rescue and
relief operations. Infrastructure damage includes - not only the
damage to basic services, but also to public buildings essential for
providing education, health care or those serving other social
functions. In addition to these, there are many community owned
infrastructural facilities like religious places, community halls,
animal shelters, fodder lands or forests, old monuments, tanks and
wells, check dams, minor dams, etc. Damage to community
infrastructure adversely affects or restricts important functions of
the community. Typically, the community infrastructure involves high
capital and social process costs. Given the nature and importance of
such community infrastructure, it is imperative to design it with all
appropriate safety considerations. For the assessment of damage to
infrastructure, after a catastrophic natural event, we need to make
assessment of the following aspects:
21
The assessment of infrastructural damage should cover all the

components of public delivery systems of goods and services located in
the affected community. These goods and services may be provided by
the public institutions, local community collectives-formal or informal and
other civil society institutions. We can look at three categories that
need to be included in the assessment.
i. Public buildings These include anganwadis, schools, health centres,

community halls, panchayat's building, PDS shop, vocational training
centres or any other government structures. The disaster may
damage these buildings and affect the services being provided
through them. Usually, the public buildings also serve as rescue
centres, after the disaster; and if they are damaged, the affected
community may face difficulties in coping.
ii. Basic services The basic services such as drinking water supply,
access roads, sewage disposal, drainage, electricity and
communication are very important for the community's well-being.
In any event, if these services are disrupted, many a life may be
threatened due to the possible outbreak of diseases or other such
problems. Therefore, damage assessment must try understand how
these services have been affected, the extent of damage in terms
of quantum and the people it serves. Some times, damage to these
services may be qualitative. For example, contamination of the
22
drinking water. So it is essential to understand such impacts in the

damage assessment. Similarly, we are aware that the access to
basic services in any community is still not equitable and that the
coping capacities differ. Hence, another critical aspect to be
included in damage assessment is to determine the worst affected
in the community due to disruption, so that appropriate priority and
targeting may be assigned during the recovery process.
iii. Community owned infrastructure Much of the infrastructure may

be community-owned in many settlements affected by the disaster.
Community owned infrastructure is the outcome of various
collective social processes- formal or informal, at the community
level. The infrastructure may belong to different social groups
within the community or to the entire village. It is essential to
understand the damage to such infrastructure in terms of its
spread, quantum, type and extent. The examples of such
infrastructure are tanks, wells, community hall, animal shelters,
religious buildings and spaces, cooperative buildings, charitable
trust buildings, etc. The extent and type of damage to the
community-owned infrastructure should be assessed. Here, it is
essential to identify the worst affected within the community.
23
Infrastructure Mapping
Infrastructure mapping is a tool to

get an overview of the services and
m ilies infrastructure available in the village
it fa
Dal Weaver Potter
to different communities. These are
families
families
Hand pump shown on the map prepared by the
Dried Hand pump
Hand pump
Well
Dried
village community members and the
Dried Post
Hand pump office damage is discussed. The adjacent
Dried Ration
Major damage to Shop Panchayat
House Dairy
map shows an example where it
Well Primary school
Dried becomes clear what is damaged in the
High
Highschool
school
Well settlement. It shows that damage to
Shop Dried
Shop Shop
Shop
Well Community Shop the road affects the connectivity of
s
Hall
il ie
Shop
the village to the neighbouring village,
r fam
Darbar which is important for their trading

families
activities. Three out of five wells and
Darba
Water tank
two out of four handpumps have gone
Brahmin damaged dry due to changes in the ground
families but in use
water table and therefore, 19 dalit
Well
Well
families and 9 families of potters are

Trading
Trading
Community
Community facing difficulties. The damage to the
Road
Road
Weaver
Weaver school has affected the education of
Damaged
Damaged
families
families 74 children. Similar information can
be understood about other
infrastructure also. This tool helps in
determining the geographic extent of
the damage and the affected
stakeholders.
24
Village Level Survey
A detailed village survey to determine the infrastructure damage to

each type of facility in the settlement is important. The survey is
conducted for each public building, basic services and community
owned infrastructure to understand the extent of damage, number of
families affected, then a step in ascertaining changes should be
included, such as the ground water getting dry, etc. are documented
to develop a database which can then be collated at the larger
administrative levels.
Type of Service available to Impact on service Post disaster No of Status of source

S.N. source/service (area, community, (Write about changes in availability, available affected
Not
available settlement) quality, quantity or any other aspect) source/service families Undamaged Repairable
repairable
25
Photographic Documentation
Photographic documentation of the damage is a

good practice. The infrastructure damage of
the village is usually addressed by different
agencies. For example, the schools may be
under the department of education and roads
& wells may be under panchayats. The decision-
making regarding these infrastructure may
take a long time and may be done at a distant
location; photographic documentation about
the post-disaster status, therefore, helps in
making the correct decision about repair or Damage to the village water tank structure
replacement. The adjacent photographs show
infrastructure damage in a tsunami village of
Car Nicobar island.
Flooding in the primary school building Main approach road of the village Damage and flooding of the
has been washed away Panchayat building
26
4
Chapter
Assessing Damage to
the Environment
Various environmental changes due to
such extreme events can prove to be
catastrophic for the human society,
particularly the local communities.
know and why Resource Village Village
Mapping Transect Survey
Assessing Damage to the

Environment
The state of environment has a critical effect on the quality of life of the
communities. The environment not only provides various resources (such as
food, water, and energy) but essential services (such as the dilution and
transformation of waste, the regulation of the water cycle, carbon
sequestration, the maintenance of biodiversity and recreation) also, to sustain
the well-being of human society. Extreme natural events are also part of
ecosystem, in a way. However, as ecosystem and human social systems interact,
various environmental changes due to such extreme events can prove to be
catastrophic for the human society, particularly the local communities. It is,
therefore, essential to understand and assess the impact of natural disasters
on environmental aspects. The loss of many environmental resources like soil,
trees, etc. can be assessed directly. However, some damages are indirect,
particularly those to the environmental services such as reduction of pollution,
carbon sequestration, provision of wild life habitat, etc. To study these in
post-disaster damage assessment, we need to breakdown various environmental
components, resources and services and assess each of them.
To understand the damage to the environment, we need to know the changes

that occur in the ecosystem. However, it may not be possible immediately or
within a short time. The following checklist can give us some idea about what
various ecosystems provide.
29
Ecosystem Goods Services

Agro-ecosystem Food & Fibre crop Maintain watershed functions (infiltration, soil
Forest-ecosystem Fuel-wood & Fodder protection, purification and stabilisation)
Freshwater- Timber Maintain aquatic marine and wild life habitats

ecosystem Non-timber products (honey, herbs, Provide pollinators, organisms important to
Coastal- etc.) agriculture
ecosystem Drinking and irrigation water Build soil organic matter
Fish Remove air pollutants
Seaweeds Emit oxygen
Hydro-electricity Buffer water flow
Genetic resources Dilute and carry away the wastes

Cycle nutrients
Moderate weather extremes and impacts
Moderate disaster impacts (mangrove, barrier
reefs, sand dunes)
Sequester atmospheric carbon
Source: compiled from information available at World Resources Institute (2001)

In post disaster situation, following changes, if any, need to be looked

into as they may affect the above mentioned goods and services that
ecosystems provide.
4 Unique/unusual land form changes (geomorphic changes) Such

changes can occur due to seismic or volcanic events. Even landslides
or mud slides could bring about these changes to some extent.
30
4 Changes in natural drainage Due to changes in the course of natural

drainage like rivers due to appearance of some sudden blocks or set
backs, damage can occur. These changes can have further impact on
life, assets and livelihoods, etc. which might have been covered under
other sector assessment. But the changes in natural drainage can
have long term impact on wild life, local ground water table and the
micro-climate in the region.
4 Soil degradation The disasters can damage the soil by casuing-

erosion, salinity, silting. Such degradation can affect the productivity
of the land. The recovery process may be short or long term. The
damage in agricultural fields will directly affect the community
engaged in farming. The loss of other lands like common land, land
used for other purposes can also adversely affect important
services. It is important to assess the type of damage to land and
soil, its quantum, location and existing use and ownerships.
4 Destruction of Trees Disasters like cyclone, floods, storm surges,

tsunami, land or mud slides can destroy a large number of trees. It is
important to assess the number of trees, the species of trees and
location of such damage.
4 Water Contamination Any adverse effect of the disaster on drinking

water resources or supply is extremely important for assessment. It
is critical to know if availability or quality is affected. Any
contamination may have health repercussions. It is also important to
know whether the damage is temporary or permanent, reversible or
31
irreversible. The ground water table, surface water bodies like ponds,
tanks, lakes, springs or rivers need to be covered in the assessment.
4 Loss of unique plants & animals or their habitat Disaster can bring
about changes in environment which in turn can destroy habitats.
Unfavourable conditions can affect nesting and breeding places of
the animals leading to loss of unique plants or animals in the affected
area. Any type of loss to wildlife areas strategic to affected region
will be of particular concern. Protected areas have greater
importance for larger societal benefits. If conditions are affected in
the protected areas, it can lead to loss of flora and fauna that may
be of critical significance for the region or nation for the
preservation of its biodiversity.

The environmental damages need to be assessed on the discussed

framework using participatory methods and tools so that local context,

knowledge and dependencies, that are linked with natural resources are
properly understood. The impact on environmental elements like water,
land, vegetation and wildlife gives us a general overview of goods and
services that may have been affected. The tools suggested assess the
damage to these natural resources.
32
Resource Mapping
The village resource map

shows various natural
Forest elements of the ecosystem in
which the human settlement
Sea exists. Mangroves,
backwaters, beach, coconut
River
plantations, provide
ecological and economical
Forest Agricultural fields and
coconut plantation
setting for the habitat of
(30% inundated) the coastal community. This
Er
od
context is easily understood
ed
Be
ac h with this resource map. The
an
d
damages due to the disaster
wa
sh
on these natural elements of
ed
aw
the ecosystem are likely to
ay
affect the community
Forest Village Be directly, in addition to long
Back waters ac
h term environmental damage
Low line
wasteland at a larger level. The
resource map shows the
Agricultural
geographic extent and scale
Fields
(20% land of such environmental
(Inundated with sea inundated) damage.
Mangroves
water. Soil turned
saline)
33
Village Transect
Sea Mangrove Back waters Beach & Sand dune Village Plantations
Land type Estuary Back waters Sandy, low to Sandy, silty, average Clayey,
medium upland elevation 2 mtrs. from sea low lying
Species - Variety of fish Few coconut trees Few coconut, casurina and Coconut
jackfruit trees
Uses Ecological Fishing Protection from high Residential and commercial For economic
balance tide activities benefits
Wild life Variety of fish Variety of fish Nesting of turtles - -
habitat breeding
Ownership Forest dept. Forest dept. Village panchayat Panchayat, individual Private farms
ownership
Water source - - - Wells, shallow handpumps River
Damage No damage Fish reduced Badly eroded and Some houses partially Inundated, soil
washed away damaged turned saline
Stakeholder - Fisher Fisher community People staying close to Farm owners
Affected community the beach and labours
The village transect is undertaken through various areas of the village and its surroundings,
along with the key community members. As various environmental resources have many uses,
the impact can be understood and discussed with the village community members. In this
example, transect through a coastal village affected by tsunami shows its protection by
natural barriers like mangrove and sand dune and only partial impact on the settlement.
Coconut plantations, which has economic value have been inundated with sea water and the
soil has turned saline. The beach which provided breeding & nesting grounds to turtles has
been washed away. Natural sand dunes have also been slightly eroded due to tsunami.
34
Village Survey
Assessing damage to water sources
Change in Water quality
S.N. Source Total Affected available water Remarks
no. no. Not potable but usable Not usable for
quantity Potable
for irrigation irrigation
Wells
Borewells
Handpumps
River
Canal
Ponds and lakes
Assessing damage to land
Total Affected Area under each type of damage

S.N. Type of land use Remarks
area area
Erosion Siltation Inundation Changes in salinity
Agricultural land
Forest land
Wasteland
Common land
Wet land
Mangroves
Salt pan
Mines
35
Assessing damage to vegetation cover
Yield or number per unit area Remarks

S.N. Type of vegetation Species available
Species impacted (Note endemic and exotic varieties)
Pre-disaster Post-disaster before disaster
Grasses
Bamboo
Non timber trees
Timber trees
Plantations
Road side trees
Aquatic plants
Coral reefs
Mangroves
Assessing damage to marine, terrestrial and wild life
Category Changes in available habitat

Total Changes in food
S.N. Species (Common/ Endangered/ Remarks
numbers availability
Rare) For nesting For breeding
Marine
Terrestrial
Wild
36
5
Chapter
Assessing
Loss of Livelihood
Damage assessment needs to take a comprehensive
view to understand the economic impact, taking
into account the complete production and service
chains of various livelihoods. In any disaster, not
only is the income and productivity of the affected
region adversely impacted, but also the goods and
services available to people.
know and why Wealth Occupational Livelihood
Ranking Network & Analysis Survey
Assessing Loss of Livelihood

Disasters have significant ramifications on the socio-economic well being
of the community. Disasters affect people in various occupations to
varying degrees. Various livelihood activities are interlinked. Impact on
any of these is likely to cause disruption in other related activities as
well. Different occupations experience varying extents of vulnerability
to different disasters. For example, farmers may be more vulnerable in
droughts, fisherfolk in tsunamis and cyclones and artisans and industries
in earthquake. These are just examples of some occupations being more
vulnerable in certain disasters than others. However, damage assessment
needs to take a comprehensive view to understand the economic impact;
accounting for the complete production and service chains of various
livelihoods. This means that in any disaster, not only are the income and
productivity of the affected region adversely impacted but also the
goods and services available to the people.
Loss of economic assets, employment; reduction in income, critical

consumption of food and expenditure on education and health care need
to be assessed to understand the impact of the disasters. The economic
impact on the families, the communities and the region needs to be
assessed in context of poverty and vulnerability. The economic impact
has critical bearing on the capacity of the community to cope with the
post-disaster situations.
39
To understand the loss of livelihood and economic losses as a result of

disaster, we need to know the livelihood patterns and occupational profile
of a region. Primary occupations, as well as secondary occupations of the
affected community need to be mapped and inter linkages must be
understood to know the type and extent of impact. These economic
activity chain links need to be understood well as rehabilitation depends
on restoring the complete chain and making conscious developmental
interventions. Another important aspect about the livelihood impact is
that it is not equal or same for each family even with same occupation. As
the assets and access to resources varies, the impact and capacity to
cope with also varies. The poor and socially vulnerable families need to be
identified.
The economic losses can be broadly categorised into two types - direct
and indirect. Direct damages include losses to i) means & assets and ii)
employment & income. Information on the loss of employment and income
makes it possible to ascertain the decrease in the population's well-being

and provides inputs for the design of rehabilitation and reconstruction
strategies, programmes and projects employing the otherwise
unemployed. The example of direct damages to agriculture, fisheries and
local trade & production of goods are indicated in the table on the
following page.
Indirect damages include losses in terms of likely production, future

employment, income, etc. due to direct damage caused by the disaster
40
until the community recovers. Estimated time for recovery and re-establishing of
production and supply chain is a critical factor in ascertaining the approximate
extent of indirect damages. The extent of efforts required for recovery, prevention
and mitigation are also considered for assessing indirect losses. The exact nature of
such damages is fully known only after some time of the disaster. But a framework
can provide a fair idea about the type and extent of indirect damages.
Aspects likely Local trade and

Agriculture Fishearies
to be damaged production of goods
Source/Assets n Loss of farm lands due to erosion, ¾ Rivers, ponds and lakes due to ¾ Loss of buildings, vehicles,
salinity or sedimentation pollution, environmental etc.
n Loss of livestock degradation or any other cause
Tools, equipment n Infrastructure and tools such as ploughs, ¾ Boats and nets ¾ Machinery, tools and
and carts, tractors, storage sheds, etc. equipment or spare parts
infrastructure n Damage to irrigation structures like ¾ Fisheries and aquaculture
check dams, canals, etc. infrastructure
Inputs & n Seeds, fertilizers, etc. for subsistence ¾ Catch/ production of fish, prawns, ¾ Stocks - goods under
products crops and cash crops etc. processing; finished goods;
n Harvested crops raw materials
Access to inputs n Availability of resources, skills and ¾ Availability of resources, skills and ¾ Availability of resources,
and resources knowledge for repairs or replacement knowledge for repairs or skills and knowledge for
n Capacity to procure replacement repairs or replacement
¾ Capacity to procure ¾ Capacity to procure
Employment and Loss of income of employed people due to temporary paralysis of activities
Income - for both men and women engaged in the economic activity
- for different type of ownerships such as individual entrepreneur, cooperative, self help group, etc.
41
Occupational Vulnerability Analysis

L
L The wealth ranking tool provides
Dalit information about the comparative
F families
L L
economic status within the village. The
U L tool encourages the communities to
G C L develop their own criteria and common
F
L P understanding based on factors like land
L G L C C
C holding, livestock, other assets,
U F
Dalit F
L C C regularity of income, etc. The adjacent
families P Rabari
F families U
map shows an example where
Weaver F F C
U
L families Patel communities like patel, darbar and
L F families F C rabari, primarily land and cattle owners,
C L
A A
U School
are financially better off as compared
Weaver L L F C
F
Bus C U to communities like dalits and weavers
families G F Station
A P L who are mainly artisans or casual
A L F Well
L labourers. Different occupations of
F
L U
U F people and economic status can be
L
L F analysed in conjunction with social
L L F F vulnerability to understand critical

L F
L F
A L F Darbar needs of the worst off families. This
L G families
F tool also builds sensitivity towards the
F
L U F needs of this group.
L P
L Wealth
P
L Category
L L L
L Very poor Occupational Category
G U F - Farmer A - Artisans
L U Poor
Dalit families L C - Cattle Owner G - Government Employees
Well to do
LL -- Casual Labour U - Unemployed
42 Rich P - Petty Business
Occupational Network Analysis
The impact of the disaster on any particular occupation impacts all other stakeholders who have
backward and forward linkages. The following example of a sharecropping farmer shows such
occupational linkages. The impact of the disaster shown in different shades of the colour indicates
varying extent. Similar networks should be studied for each occupation. Impact analysis should be
made for each stakeholder occupation as per the following matrix.
Manufacturing Company Local small
Labour processor
Dealer Seed & fertilizer
Processing
supplier
Industry
Artisans
Share
cropping Local trader Retailer Consumer
Borewell
farmer
Owner
Wholesaler
Bank
Marketing
Land owner
Money lender Cooperative
Backward Linkages Forward Linkages
No. of people incolved Pre-disaster Post-disaster

Reason for any
S.N. Type of occupation Work availability Work availability change
Men Women Children Income Income
(No. of days) (No. of days)
43
Livelihood Survey
The household level economic loss can be assessed through detailed

survey for each working member in the family to ensure gender
disaggregated data. Given varied forms and nature of access, control and
ownership of assets such as land, house or livestock, etc., understanding
these complexities is essential. Household level survey reveals livelihood
losses at family level and can be aggregated at larger levels of village,
taluka and district to understand the overall scenario.
Name of Type of Source and Tools and Inputs and Expected loss
Family S. each working Sex Primary assets equipments products of work Any new
owner-
no. N. member in (M/F) occupation opportunity
family ship Total Loss Total Loss Total Loss No. of days Income
1. 1.
2.
3.
2. 4.
5.
3. 6.
7.
8.
44
6
Chapter
Assessing
Impact on Health
Health risks are aggravated after
disaster, due to worsening living
conditions and disruption of available
health services.
know and why Community Health Mobility Map for Health Risk
Surveillance Health Services Mapping
Assessing Impact on Health

Disasters put the affected community's health at risk. Negative impacts
on health can be a direct result of the disaster or of subsequent
degradation in the living conditions and the environment. The assessment
of impact on health may be required, as part of the overall assessment,
for identifying the possible fall outs of the disaster. Such assessment is
crucial to ensure protection to human life. Health surveillance ensures
that there are no epidemics or other health hazards due to the
prevalent conditions.
Health risks are aggravated after disaster, due to worsening living

conditions and disruption of available health services. The living
conditions worsen due to environmental degradation, population
concentration in small areas, lack of basic services, etc. Some times,
nutritional intake is affected post-disaster. In such conditions, it is
necessary to observe the situation, particularly the families with infants,
pregnant women, old aged, disabled, chronically ill, HIV positive
members, etc.
Health hazards may arise due to i) site conditions such as water

stagnation, mosquito breeding, high population density, etc.; ii) deficient
services such as contamination of water, lack of safe sanitation, lack of
sufficient water, light and ventilation in shelters; or iii) lack of nutrition
47
and safe storage facilities for food. These aspects lead to diseases in the
affected communities. Some times disasters can lead to health hazards due to
other factors- such as population displacement might bring people in contact
with different microbial surroundings; to which they may be less immune. The
following table is an indicative list of likely diseases in post disaster situations.
Some likely diseases in

Possible contributing factors
post-disaster situation
Diarrhoea Overcrowding, contamination of water & Food, lack of hygiene

Measles Overcrowding, low vaccination coverage
Acute Respiratory infections Poor ventilation in temporary shelters, overcrowding, lack of blankets & clothings
Malaria Water stagnation and mosquito breeding
Meningitis Contaminated water, overcrowding in areas where disease is endemic
Tuberculosis Overcrowding, lack of nutrition
Typhoid Poor personal hygiene, lack of sanitation
Scabies Poor personal hygiene, Overcrowding
Anaemia Poor nutrition
Hepatitis Lack of hygiene, contamination of water and food
HIV/ AIDS Loss of social organization, Poor transfusion practices

Some diseases may be endemic to the disaster affected region. Worsened

conditions may further aggravate the situation. For example, a region where
incidence of malaria is high; any flood situation may further increase risk of
mosquito breeding and hence increase health risks. Identification of such
situations demands immediate preventive measures. Therefore, assessment
should take into account regional patterns in the past. Another important aspect
that needs assessment for humanitarian response planners, is the extent of
48 interruption of the health care services.
Community Health Surveillance
Health surveillance is a structured process of identifying early signs of

adverse effects on health of the disaster affected people through
periodic monitoring. Surveillance reveals the type, magnitude, pattern
and trend of health problems through periodic and systematic collection
of health related data. This helps us understand the probability of
outbreak that may call for a public health response. Such response
should provide the necessary care and protection to the affected people
and help prevent further loss of life. The surveillance helps us improve
the timeliness of the health response by capturing relevant data. The
collected data is categorised in syndrome categories and public health
professionals can initiate public health investigations and take requisite
action.
A list of possible diseases based on the risks after a particular disaster

should be prepared with help of public health professionals. The data
relating to the prevalent conditions and incidence of disease should be
collected from the local doctor, PHC or other health care providers.
Particular attention must be paid to the vulnerable people, who may be at
increased risk due to post-disaster situation. The proposed format
provides a preliminary assessment on access to health services, drinking
water, safe sanitation and sufficient nutrition for vulnerable families to
help humanitarian workers and public health workers plan appropriate
responses.
49
Number of affected people

S.N. Name of disease Week-1 Week-2 Week-3 Week-4
Male Female Child Male Female Child Male Female Child Male Female Child
1. Diarrhoea
2. Measles
3. Acute respiratory
infections
4. Malaria
5. Dengue
6. Meningitis
7. Leptospirosis
8. Tuberculosis
9. Typhoid
10. Scabies
11. Anaemia
12. Hepatitis
13. HIV/ AIDS
S.N. Name of vulnerable Symptoms Vulnerability Medical service Type of Safe drinking Safe sanitation Sufficient nutrition
person category accessed medical water available facilities available available
Y/N service Y/N Y/N Y/N
1.
2.
3.
50
Mobility Map for Health Services

This tool helps identify the extent and quality of health care services
available to the affected community. The example shows various health
care providers and services can be accessed. It also indicates the
distance, frequency of availability and the types of services available.
The example indicates how such information is represented in mobility
map.
NGOs Mobile Van

- vaccination
- medication
PHC - OPD Referral Hospital
- first aid
- delivery - in bed facility
- in bed facility in 1/2 km in the - emergency
- blood test vil neig village itself ms - operation
lag h 0k
- vaccination e bou Panchayat building ka r 3 - access to specialists
5
km ring talu rte - X-ray
- medicines
s At d qua
hea - diagnostic tests
Affected
village
ouring
neighb kms community in t h e v il
la g e it s e
2 Traditional Physicians
Private Doctor village lf
- Medicines in the village - herbal
- Vaccination itself (Twice a week) medicines
ANM/ FHW
- delivery
- reproductive
health facility
51
Health Risk Mapping
Location for open defecation Health risk mapping is a tool to map the
- Contaminated pond water
- Used for animals possible health risks after a disaster in
the village. It identifies all the possible
Dalit
families factors and places which may pose health
Temporary
shelters hazards. The map prepared with help of
community members identifies locations
Water clogging, mosquito that might be over crowded, water logged
breeding and contaminated
Darbar water in open well may cause or used for open defecation, polluting soil
families malaria and diarrhoea
and water. This can help in identifying
vector breeding sites and developing
control mechanisms. In addition, the map
Anganwadi
also identifies the vulnerable community
Patel members who may be at greater risks.
families
This information can help mobilise the
Panchayat community to act against possible effects.
House
Humanitarian workers can use this
Darbar information to plan preventive measures
families
against possible outbreak of epidemics.
Dalit families
Weaver
Rabari families Vulnerable Catarory
families Pregnant Women
Temporary shelters
provided by NGO Infant
- Very high density Chronically Ill
- Unhygienic condition HIV Positive
- Lack of natural light and
ventilation Physically Challenged
52
7
Chapter
Assessing
the Psycho-Social Impact
The people
affected by the
disaster need
psychosocial care;
as every one is
traumatised.
It is just the
extent that varies.
know and why Observation & Symptom Prevalence Case
Listening Matrix Card
Assessing the Psycho-Social

Impact In the past few years, there has better understanding of the impacts of
disaster. The disasters affect not only physical and material life of the
community, but also psychologically. These impacts are linked with the
social structures and support systems, that in turn, affect the coping
capacities. It is increasingly being recognised that psychosocial care of
the affected families in the aftermath of disaster can go a long way in
restoring normalcy in their lives. But before such response can be
developed and appropriate care can be provided, it is essential that we
have some understanding of the kind and extent of trauma affecting
communities, families and individuals.
The first thing to know is the mental trauma that disaster affected
individuals might be facing. It is reflected in their emotional reactions
of anger, irritability, panic attacks, sleeplessness, withdrawal from
activities, increased anxiety, nightmares in children, etc. These are some
of the universal responses amongst people who experience events beyond
their coping capacities. These are not manifestations of abnormal
behaviour but normal responses to an abnormal experience. The
extent and persistence of the trauma which people face is also linked
with their post-disaster experiences. The ongoing difficulties hamper
the recovery process, thereby, prolonging the incidence of these
emotional reaction. The other important aspect relates to need for
55
psycho-social care for all the disaster affected people. It is just the
extent that varies. Greater extent of trauma may mean more frequent
care and for longer durations. Generally, men, women and children
experience different degrees of such emotional reactions.
The post-disaster trauma may be due to physical reasons such as

injuries, burns, fractures, illness, etc. or psychosocial aspects like
bereavement, alcohol/ drug abuse, etc. or socio-economic aspects like
homelessness, displaced living and unemployment, etc. These factors may
be studied after the disaster. The following checklist of symptoms can
be particularly useful in identification of the extent of trauma.
Behavioural symptoms Physical symptoms Emotional symptoms Relational changes
n Loss of interest in life n Headaches n Anger n Disagreement, arguments
n Reduced activity, no energy n Tiredness n Irritability n Lack of emotion
n Overactivity and inability to n Tense muscles n Fear, vigilance, anxiety n Too much dependence on
rest others
Palpitation/ irregular Helplessness, sadness,

n n
n Difficulty in concentration heartbeat guilt
n Sleep disturbances n Poor appetite, pain in n Repeated thoughts

abdomen, vomiting
n Flashbacks sensation n Frequent mood swings
n Use of intoxicants and drugs
56
Severe trauma can also lead to post trauma stress disorder (PTSD)
where many of these symptoms may be seen together. Usually reliving of
trauma in dreams or nightmares, complete withdrawal from activities,
panic reactions and outbursts can be indicative of PTSD. However, with
education, support, anxiety management and lifestyle modifications it is
possible to overcome PTSD.
Observing and Listening
For understanding the psycho-social trauma that one may be

experiencing, observation and listening is the most essential methodology
to understand the type of trauma and its extent. Its manifestation may
be different in different people. Therefore, a general understanding of
the possible symptoms helps the care-giver in observing and identifying
the same. Quiet observation and active listening allows the affected
person to open up and share her/ his feelings. During this sharing; one
learns about the extent of psycho-social trauma that people, families or
the communities experience. Through attentive empathetic listening, one
can understand the extent of trauma and the likely pace of recovery.
However, for the people to open up, it is essential to be in an informal
and comfortable situation. During the interaction with people who are
facing traumatic situations, care should be taken not to interrupt,
question or probe. Instead a feeling of trust, empathy and understanding
should be developed.
57
As mentioned earlier, post disaster difficulties also increase the traumatic

experiences of the affected persons. It is, therefore, important to
understand the difficulties that persons may be facing in coping with their
day to day life. Difficulties in access to compensation or relief support in
form of essential things- food, clothing, etc. may be factors contributing
towards their inability to overcome their trauma. These need to be identified
and addressed.
Symptom Prevalence Matrix
It is not possible to survey the affected community and collect data

regarding the number of people with particular symptoms. It is only through
informal community discussions, meetings and personal contact with the
households that one can observe these symptoms. Of course, information by
others can also be added. This information can be collated later in the
following format to get the overview and understanding of various symptoms
common prevalent in the community. As we know that emotional reactions may
be different for men, women and children, such observations need to be
recorded to provide disaggregated comprehensive understanding of the
extent of trauma faced by the community.
The following table, as an example, shows that in affected community, many

young children and women experience nightmares and sleeplessness, men
display symptoms like withdrawal from activities, anger, irritability and
frequent mood changes and the old display feeling of helplessness and
sleeplessness. With this information, the care giver will have better
understanding and can provide appropriate support to each group.
58
Adolescent children
Symptoms Women Men Old
Girls Boys
Nightmares •• •• •
Sleeplessness •••••• •••••• ••••• •• •••
Headache/ bodyache •• • ••• • •
Flashbacks ••• • • ••
Loss of concentration •••••• • •••
Withdrawal from activity •• • ••• ••••• ••••
Hyperactivity ••
Anxiety •• •• •••• •• ••••
Breathing problem/ choking
Palpitation •• • ••
Tiredness ••• •••
Anger ••• • ••••• •
Sadness/ helplessness •••• ••• ••••• ••• •••••
Irritability • •• •• •••••
Frequent mood changes •• ••• •••••• ••
Other _______
Preparation of Case Cards

Severe traumatic conditions can be identified through the above processes and detailed case cards may
have to be prepared. A case card is like a case history and it is important to record the symptoms,
personal & family background possible for such reactions. This helps in engaging psycho-social experts.
Such cases may require more specialised support on a continuous and regular basis. The case cards are a
helpful tool to design for the professional intervention. This is done by keeping records of visits,
changes observed and related issues.
59
Assessing the impact on
women in disasters
With the past experiences in many disasters, it has been well established that the social
inequities are enhanced during disasters. Considering the gender inequities in a patriarchal
social set up, it is recommended that a clear focus on assessing the impact on women, is
maintained. While studying the impact on different aspects of human life in terms of
housing, infrastructure, livelihoods, etc., emphasis needs to be maintained on collecting
gender segregated information. A clear gender framework helps in capturing the important
aspects of vulnerabilities in the damage assessment.
A simple example may help us understand this more easily. If drinking water sources are
affected in a community where it is considered to be a responsibility of the women to fetch
water for the household, drudgery involved may increase for them without affecting the
men. Gender inequality in the society impacts women, not only to a greater extent; but also
in more ways than men. A comprehensive picture from following frameworks can be very
useful for developing the disaster response not only in addressing the immediate needs and
priorities of women, but also to reduce some long term vulnerabilities arising out of gender
inequity. As we are aware that our social set up is highly stratified by castes and classes,
the situation of women in different strata of the village community may be different. It is
important, therefore, to understand different stakeholder women groups. The following
framework should be used for each stakeholder group of women. Gender Analysis
framework is useful to understand activities and extent of role in decision making regarding
various aspects that govern daily life and may have been affected in the disaster.
¾ Activity Profile There may be changes in the activity profile after the disaster for
both men and women. For example, contamination of water sources may result in
60
increased distance traversed for fetching potable water for the family. Activity profile shows
genderwise engagement in daily life activities (productive, reproductive and social).
¾ Access and Control Profile Access and control profile should differentiate between access to
productive resources like equipment, labour, capital, credit, inputs, education, training, etc. and role
in decision making regarding its allocation and use. This analysis helps identify the impediments for
women to participate equitably. For example, if women have no control over income, the essential
nutrition and special health needs of women may suffer. Access and control profile provides insight
into capacities, constraints and vulnerabilities.
¾ Analysis of influencing factors The disaster may cause changes in family headship, economic
situation due to loss of assets and employment, natural resource degradation in the village, mental
trauma amongst people, etc. This may affect women's situation and status significantly. The access
and control profile may change. Activities may change.
¾ Needs and priorities On the basis of above analysis, the needs and priorities identified must be
articulated by stakeholder women groups.
Based on above framework, the following matrix helps in gender analysis of post disaster situation.
This analysis matrix should form a part of comprehensive multi sectoral damage assessment.
Gender Analysis Matrix
Access to resources and

Labour Arising
Stakeholder women decision making Vulnerabilities Capacities
group constraints
Pre-disaster Post-disaster Pre-disaster Post-disaster
61
END NOTE
This toolkit provides a framework for assessing therefore, may not give a complete understanding for
loss of human life, housing and infrastructure planning the response programme. It is important to
damage, environmental damage, loss of livelihoods adopt comprehensive multi-sectoral perspective of
and psycho-social impacts. Not all types of damage assessment within a participatory framework.
damages have been covered under these
categories. For example, the disaster may also The participatory framework and methodologies render
cause many development projects to be delayed the damage assessment process transparent and
or suspended in the affected area. This toolkit accountable to the communities, affected by the
has covered the most critical aspects for the disaster. The information gathered through these tools
field practitioners. PRA tools like social mapping, and methodologies remains as much with the community
transect, focus group discussions, semi as with the response planners. As a result of this
structured open ended surveys have been used process, the damage assessment works as the first step
for appropriate sectoral assessments. towards empowered community participation in
subsequent response. The key concepts of vulnerability
Sectoral assessment of damages when compiled reduction, social inclusion, community participation and
and analysed together provides direction to gender perspective form the four pillars of the
target vulnerability. For example, social mapping processes of damage assessment.
may need to be seen in conjunction with wealth

ranking and housing damage to understand and The relevance and usefulness of the framework and
identify the most vulnerable and poor families for tools in this book can only be maintained by taking
targeting in housing programme. Therefore, the advantage of experience with their use and by adding to
sectoral information collected through various them. It is important to continually test, review and
surveys and other methods must be read in rewrite the damage assessment methodologies. The
conjunction with each other to get a tools and methods provided in this book should be
comprehensive view. Merely identifying one suitably modified. More tools and methods can be
sector and associated tools and methodology, designed and added in the toolkit.
62
GLOSSARY
ANM Auxiliary Nurse Midwife. ANM is village level health

extension worker to support implementation of women and
child health programmes.
FHW Female Health Worker
PHC Primary Health Centre. It is village level government
institution to provide health services mostly for out-
patients.
PRA Participatory Rural Appraisal
RCC Reinforced Cement Concrete. It is cement concrete with
steel reinforcement bars and is used for many types of
structures and components, including slabs, walls, beams,
columns, foundations, frames, etc.
Rabari Cattle rearing community in western parts of India,
particularly Kutch and Saurashtra region of Gujarat.
Dalit Dalit literally meaning 'the oppressed' is a term that is
used to refer to people who are considered not having a
caste in Indian caste system. Historically, there has been
attitude of discrimination against the dalits.
Darbar A caste indicating a community of land owners, which has
usually dominated the political sphere in the villages
historically.
Patel A farming community of land owners usually part of so
called 'upper castes' in Indian caste system.
63
PTSD Post Trauma Stress Disorder indicates a psychological
disorder when extreme symptoms of emotional distress
are visible.
Kutcha Temporary, something that is not long lasting. Usually used
to signify type of construction.
Pucca Strong, something that can last a long time. Usually used
to signify type of construction.
Anganwadi Child care centre run by the Government mostly under
Integrated Child Development Scheme and therefore also
known as ICDS centre.
Panchayats An elected local governing body at village level which has
constitutional status as third tier of the Government in
India.
Nagarpalika Also called municipality, it is the elected governing body
in towns and cities like panchayats in villages.
Ward sabha Municipality is generally divided in wards and the general
body of the ward comprising of all adult citizens is
referred as 'ward sabha'.
Gram Sabha The village general body comprising of all the adult village
people is referred as 'gram sabha'.
PDS Public Distribution System is village level distribution set
up of Government of India to ensure food and other basic
needs for the poor at subsidized cost.
Brahmin Under Indian caste system, brahmin is considered the
highest caste. Traditional custodian of all rituals and
religious practices and historically having high influence on
the ruling castes.
64
REFERENCES
Handbook for Estimating the Socio-economic and Environmental Effects

of Disasters, 2003, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
(ECLAC)
Disaster Loss Assessment Guide, 2002, Australian Emergency Manuals Series,
Emergency Management Practice, Emergency Management Australia, State of
Queensland, Australia
Post-Disaster Damage Assessment and Need Analysis,
Analysis, Workshop report, April
24-28, 2000, Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre, Bangkok
Rising From the Ashes: Developing Strategies in Times of Disaster
1989. Mary Anderson and Peter Woodrow Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press.
Participatory Planning Guide for Post-Disaster Reconstruction, 2004, EPC-
Environmental Planning Collaborative, Ahmedabad, India and TCG International, LLC,
Washington, DC
Damage Assessment After the Paso Robles (San Simeon, California)
Earthquake: Lessons for Emergency Management,
Management, 20 2004, David A. McEntire
and Jill Cope, the Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado
Understanding the Economic and Financial Impacts of Natural Disasters,
2004, Charlotte Benson & Edward J. Clay, Disaster Risk Management Series No. 4,
The World Bank
Natural Resource Damage Assessment: Methods and Cases Cases,, 2004, Amy W.
Ando, Madhu Khanna, Amy Wildermuth, Suzanne Vig, Waste Management and
Research Center, University of Illinois
Community Damage Assessment and Demand Analysis Analysis,, 2005, Mihir Bhatt,
Mehul Pandya and Charlotte Murphy, Experience Learning Series 33, All India
Disaster Mitigation Institute, Ahmedabad, India
65
Socio-economic Impacts of Natural Disasters: A Gender Analysis, 2004,
Sarah Bradshaw for United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America, Serie
Manuales 33 (English translation of original Spanish document) On line PDF
document. Available through ECLAC:
www.eclac.cl/publicaciones/UnidadMujer/8/LCL2128/lcl2128i.pdf
Gendering Vulnerability Analysis: Towards a More Nuanced Approach,
2004, Maureen Fordham. In G. Bankoff, G. Frerks, & D. Hillhorst (Eds.), Mapping
vulnerability: Disasters, development, and people (pp. 174-182), Earthscan, London
Consultations with the Poor: Methodology Guide for the 20 country
Study for the World Development Report 2000/01, 1999, Poverty Group,
Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network, The World Bank
Whose Reality Counts? Putting the first Last, 1997, Robert Chambers,
Intermediate Technology Publications, Bath, UK
PRA in Central Asia: Coping with Change, 1996, compiled by Carolyn Jones,
INTRAC and Institute of Development Studies, Sussex, UK
Participatory Rural Appraisal Methodology and Applications, 1993, Neela
Mukherjee, Concept Publishing, New Delhi, India
Participatory Appraisal of Natural Resources, 1997, Neela Mukherjee, Concept
Publishing, New Delhi, India
Psychosocial Care for Individuals by Community level Helpers, 2000,
Information Manual Supercyclone, K. V. Kishore Kumar et al., India: Books for Change
Psychosocial Care for Survivors Riots, 2002, Information Manual-1, Antara Sen
Dave, K. Sekar et al, India: Books for Change
Women, Disaster Reduction and Sustainable Development, 2002, compiled by
Elaine Enarson, the Inter-agency Secretariat for the International Strategy for
Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR), Geneva.
Gender Manual: A Practical Guide for Development Policy Makers and
Practitioners, 2002, Helen Derbyshire, Social Development Division, Department for
International Development (DfID)
66
UNNATI - Organisation for Development Education is a voluntary non-profit organisation
registered under the Societies Registration Act (1860) in 1990.
UNNATI works with a mission to promote social inclusion and democratic governance so that
the vulnerable sections of our society are empowered to effectively participate in mainstream
development and decision making processes.
The above aim is accomplished through providing strategic issue based support to development
initiatives in Gujarat and Rajasthan. This is carried out by undertaking collaborative research,
public education, advocacy, direct field level mobilisation and implementation with multiple
stakeholders. While we work at the grassroot level to policy level environment for ensuring
basic rights of citizens, we derive inspiration from the struggles of the vulnerable and
strength from the partners. UNNATI works on two thematic areas.
1. Social Inclusion and Empowerment

In order to promote social inclusion of the vulnerable in the development process, for their
empowerment, several activities are carried out in collaboration with various stakeholders like,
awareness campaigns, perspective building workshops, public education, direct mobilisation of
the community on rights of the dalits, disabled and for gender equity. Field level activities are
coupled with research and advocacy to establish their legitimacy and rights.
2. Civic Leadership in Governance

In order to enable citizen leaders to effectively participate in governance in a democratic way
several activities are carried out to strengthen the capacity of elected representatives
(Panchayats and Nagarpalikas), through training and information support. Through public
educational campaigns, the participation of citizens (gramsabha and wardsabha) are mobilised
for building a responsive citizen.
UNNATI - Organisation for Development Education
G - 1/200, Azad Society, Ahmedabad
Phone: 079-26746145, 26733296, Fax: 079-26743752
Email: [email protected]

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Assessing Damage after Disasters

A Participatory Framework and Toolkit

Authors: Vivek Rawal

Design: Rajesh Patel

Printer: Print Vision, Ahmedabad

How to Use the Toolkit vii

Multi Sectoral Damage Assessment Framework ix

Chapter 1 Assessing Loss and Damage to Human Life 1

Chapter 2 Assessing Damage to Housing 9

Chapter 3 Assessing Damage to Community Infrastructure 19

Chapter 4 Assessing Damage to the Environment 27

Chapter 5 Assessing Loss of Livelihood 37

Chapter 6 Assessing Impact on Health 45

Chapter 7 Assessing the Psycho-social Impact 53

The impact of disasters on women 60

Drawing upon various methodologies in different sectors such as housing, infrastructure,

'Assessing Damage after Disasters- A Participatory Framework and

The toolbook is organised in the following manner:

The framework for damage assessment needs to be participatory in

Vulnerability Reduction of the vulnerability to disasters.

With the above key concepts, damage assessment focuses on

Post-disaster damage assessment can be broadly divided in two parts

In the following chapters, damage assessment framework for various

Assessing Loss and Damage

Assessing Loss and

WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW AND WHY

The first information regarding this loss is to determine the baseline

Data should be segregated gender wise, age wise or occupation wise to

to understand the family structure (nuclear family or joint family) and

When we assess loss of life, it is important to pay attention to certain

ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY & TOOLS

that uses the community information and is credible for the

Assessing loss of life is a difficult task for the field practitioners

lost. At the time of making such assessments after disaster, it is

important to ensure that any social-cultural ritual, if being undertaken by

Collecting information from secondary sources is also important. Loss of

From these sources - informal discussions and secondary reports, the

Name of the main Detail of deaths, missing and injury Government

WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW AND WHY

The geographic location of the settlement is the first information

collected. The number of dwellings in the affected area needs to be

The houses need to be categorised based on the extent of damage. This

material and skill resources required for reconstruction. Damage

ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY & TOOLS

Developing an appropriate methodology for housing damage assessment is

Village transect gives us a

partial cases, mud have collapsed completely.

Big vertical crack near

Diagonal cracks near the

Each damaged house should be documented using

Household level Survey

Vulnerability Reconstruction Major Minor Present status Type of Materials Details of

House No.: Name: Address:

Potentially repairable Irrepairable No of places damages

Foundation and plinth 1.1 Cracks

Wall, columns and 2.1 Vertical cracks

Roof 3.1 Cracks

WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW AND WHY

The assessment of infrastructural damage should cover all the