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Apri115,1992 ColoradoDamageAssessmentHandbook Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA) The purpose of the Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA) is to support a local governments request for a Governor's Declaration of Disaster and in some cases a Federal Presidential Declaration. This assessment, in case of a potential federal declaration, supports the Federal Emer- gency Management Agency's (FEMA) regional summary, analysis and recommen- dation to substantiate or deny the request for federal assistance. It detennines pro- gram and management requirements for the disaster recovery effort The I'D A is accomplished by state and local forces, however, in some cases, FEMA repre- sentatives may join in the team effort Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA) Briefing The PDA briefing is attended by ap- propriate federal, state and local govern- ment agencies, as well as, voluntary relief agencies and is conducted in or near the affected area. The briefmg provides infor- mation regarding the situation, including initial damage estimates as determined by local and state govemments as well as a discussion of any special problems as- sociated with the specific kind of damage. It provides a description of the damaged area(s) and identification of the areas to be surveyed (maps should be available for the teams). It identifies state and local offi- cials familiar with the area to accompany the team(s). It is the local government responsibility to show such areas and damages to the teams. It establishes reporting requirements and schedules. Each team will be composed of a state in- spector and in some cases a federal inspec- tor (when the PDA is conducted jointly) who will be accompanied by a local government or applicant representative in c:ach affected entity. Following the general briefing, additional sessions may be con- ducted separately for individual teams. Depending on the requirements of each situation, briefmgs may be conducted in 1he following manner: Standard Preliminary Damage Assess- ment forms and Checklists are dis- tributed and explained to each par- ticipant (see Appendix B). Damage criteria is discussed. This in- cludes uniform tenninology in describ- ing the degree of damage - e.g., destroyed, major damage, minor damage, and habitability. Generally, units of time used in reports should be calendar days rather than weeks or months. ][nspection of Damage The actual process of conducting damage assessment is divided into two major areas, Public Damage and Private Damage. Public Damage Public Damage refers to damaged facilities and systems designed to serve or benefit the common good of the community. Damage assessment of public facilities items involves documenting physical losses, th.e impact of their non-operability upon tbe community, and the cost of repairing, replacing, or protecting against further damage. Public damage items have been placed into specific categories for the pur- pose of assessment. They include: debris clearance, public and private non-profit Seven