Disaster Assessment Tools (RIAT & DA)

About the Program

Category: Risk and Emergency Management (Best in Category)

Year: 2018

The Palm Beach County Information Systems Services (ISS) and Planning, Zoning & Building (PZB) Departments collaborated to build and deploy a suite of applications that support the identification, collection and reporting of the extent and location of damages following a disaster. The Rapid Impact Assessment Tool (RIAT) provides an overall damage assessment and identifies areas heavily impacted by a disaster. Palm Beach County employees and the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office use this tool typically within 3 hours after an event “all-clear” notification (e.g., roads are cleared). The Damage Assessment Tool consists of two components: 1) the DA Mobile is installed on laptops and used by PZB Building Inspectors and Code Enforcement Officers to conduct detailed field assessments within 72 hours of an event. The data can be synchronized from fire stations, PZB or the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and becomes immediately available for review and reporting; and 2) The DA Admin module provides tools to prioritize inspection areas, track data collection status, QA assessment findings and publish standard reports. ISS also provides the disaster assessment tools to municipalities to facilitate their State disaster reporting. Both tools were successfully deployed in response to Hurricane Irma in 2017. The Disaster Assessment Tool was successfully deployed in response to a major rainfall and flooding event in January 2014.