Damage Assessment Mapping Module

Damage Assessment Mapping Module (DAMM Tool)

The Damage Assessment Mapping Module (DAMM) for Portland NET provides volunteer responders with a tool to document and map impacts of a disaster, and electronically transmit that information to the Portland Emergency Coordination Center (ECC). It is, essentially, an electronic version of NET Form 1 for damage assessment. ECC personnel can immediately use information sent to them from DAMM to allocate resources for response and recovery. Volunteers can document assessments with the DAMM even in the absence of internet service, though internet service is required to transmit the reports completed by a user.

Every NET volunteer and ATV with a smartphone should download the software onto their device and know how to use it in the field.

Program Overview

The Damage Assessment Mapping Module (DAMM) is one of the most important communication tools available to NET volunteers. The tool promotes accuracy, consistency, and efficiency in collecting post-disaster data for use in high-level decision making.

Figure 1: The DAMM dashboard used by ECC personnel.

Observations inputted to the DAMM via the Survey123 app are relayed to an Operational Dashboard (fig. 1) displayed to emergency response planners in Portland’s Emergency Coordination Center (ECC). In turn, ECC personnel will use the data to assemble a highly detailed situational awareness picture and allocate response resources accordingly and (where possible) expeditiously. Data inputted to the DAMM will also be critical for applying for federal relief aid and other resources in the aftermath of a major disaster.

Practical DAMM applications in a disaster

The DAMM is set up for volunteers to perform a site-to-site assessment, with one survey submitted per site. While this assessment method is labor intensive, it is highly accurate and used when a higher degree of confidence in the information is required. PBEM recommends that planned use of the DAMM appear in all NET Operations Plans with a Team Leader assigning at least one or two volunteers to begin making reports with it after the acute phase of disaster response has passed (probably 24 hours after an earthquake, for example). Volunteers using the DAMM assess each property site in their neighborhood, site by site, and reports should include undamaged property (in the survey, there is an option to indicate up front that a volunteer observes no damage).

Who is allowed to use the DAMM?

NET and COAD volunteers above all others. But, NET and COAD volunteers can also “deputize” spontaneous volunteers as needed. In the survey, a deputized spontaneous volunteer should use their own name but the badge number of the volunteer who deputized them.

DAMM Form Fields

Field Name	Required?	Field Type	Notes	Visibility
Observer Details
Person Reporting	✓	Text
Neighborhood Emergency Team	✓	Drop-down
NET ID Number	✓	Text
Date & Time Observed	N/A	Date/Time	Autofilled by the app.
Incident Type	✓	Drop-down	What event type caused the damage?
Incident Name	✓	Text	Supplied by Team Leader; should be the same for each observation inputted during an incident.
Site Details
Location of the assessment	N/A	Geopoint	Autofilled by the app.
Street Address		Text
Zip Code
Do you see anything?	✓