Configure Damage Assessment

Learn how to configure Damage Assessment to meet specific needs in your organization.

Manage active incidents

Over time you may experience several emergency incidents. Therefore, it will be important to name each incident so you will be able to track the damage assessments associated to each incident. The Damage Assessment Operations application can be used to create incident names.

Create an incident name so that all damage reports and assessments can be collected for each individual incident, complete the following steps:

1. Deploy the Damage Assessment solution and open the Damage Assessment Operations application.

   Note:

   The Damage Assessment Operations app can be used by emergency management staff to manage, monitor and administer damage assessments.

2. Click Administer.

   The Administration Tools page will open with several administration tools.

3. In the Administer page, review the instructions in the Manage Active Incidents option and click the Incident Names csv link.

   The IncidentNames item page will open in your ArcGIS organization. This item contains a CSV file that can be used to update as each new incident occurs.

4. Click Download and open the IncidentNames CSV file on your computer.
5. Add a new incident name in the first field and save the file with the changes.
6. Click Update on the IncidentNames item page and choose the updated IncidentNames file on your computer then click Update Item.

   The new incident name has been added to the list of incidents and will appear on each survey when damage reports are collected.

Modify surveys

The Damage Assessment solution includes four surveys: Public Damage Report, Individual Assistance Survey, Individual Assistance Express Survey, and Public Assistance Survey. These surveys are all based largely upon FEMA PDA Guidebook. You can modify these surveys by adding your own questions or include logic to populate other values such as a Parcel Identification Number (PIN).

Tip:

The Damage Assessment Operations, Individual Assistance Survey,Public Assistance Survey and Individual Assistance Express Survey forms are configured to provide address information and will consume credits using the ArcGIS World Geocoding Service. Learn more about credit usage when using the geocoding service.

Modify incident list

You may choose to limit the content of the Public Damage Report. For example, you may want the public to see only the current incident and not all incidents in the past.

Follow the steps below to change the content of the Public Damage Report survey.

1. Sign in to your ArcGIS Online organization and search for the Public Damage Report form.
2. Install ArcGIS Survey123 Connect if you have not already installed it.
3. Start ArcGIS Survey123 Connect and sign in to your ArcGIS organization.
4. Click Public Damage Report survey to download the survey.
5. Click Public Damage Report survey again to open the survey.
6. On the left pane, click Open XLSForm to open Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.
7. Click the choices tab.
8. Revise the list of name values to reflect the incidents you want to see the public report to use.
9. Save the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.
10. In ArcGIS Survey123 Connect, click Publish in the left pane to publish your changes.

Populate parcel information (optional)

Parcel information can be used to link damage assessments to home ownership. The parcel information can then be included in each damage report. You can also use other boundary or jurisdiction data to populate your survey as long as you have the boundary data published as web layer.

Optionally, follow the steps below to incorporate your parcels in the surveys.

1. Start ArcGIS Survey123 Connect and sign in to your ArcGIS organization.
2. Click Individual Assistance Survey to download the survey.
3. Click Individual Assistance Survey again to open the survey.
4. On the bottom pane, click Scripts.
5. In the myJSFunctions.js file find the following line: https://services.arcgis.com/15kuuRedeiUAOfF5pwAerered/arcgis/rest/services/YourParcelLayer/FeatureServer/0
6. Replace the URL in step 5 with a URL that represents your parcel layer.
7. On the right pane, click Save to save the script.
8. On the left pane, click Open XLSForm to open the Excel spreadsheet.
9. Find the hidden parcelid row.
10. Scroll over to the calculation column.
11. Add the following logic in the cell: pulldata("@json",${json},"attributes.PARCEL_NO")
12. Update the Parcel_NO value in step 11 to the name of the field that represents your parcel identifier from the feature layer.
13. Save the spreadsheet
14. Preview your changes in ArcGIS Survey123 Connect.
15. In ArcGIS Survey123 Connect, click Publish in the left pane to publish your changes.

Tip:

Mobile workers face the challenge of collecting accurate information in the field. After a disaster, reference data such as parcel boundaries can help ensure accurate data collection. It can also help mobile workers navigate to assigned location so the correct information can be captured. To add authoritative data such as parcel boundaries, or address points to the survey in your map. Add the reference layers to the web map for Individual Assistance Survey or Public Assistance Survey and save the map. You'll then see this layer in the survey map.

Configure Damage Assessment Operations

The Damage Assessment Operations app allows the damage assessment coordinator to manage, monitor and administer damage assessments. This app can be configured to make the management and administration process easier by adding and updating mobile workers and creating in app level help to help fit organizational needs.

Add mobile workers

The Damage Assessment Operations app allows the damage assessment coordinator to assign reports to field personnel to conduct the damage assessments. The damage assessment coordinator can type in the username to assign the assessment. However, a more efficient way to manage the process is to maintain a list of mobile workers so that you can follow up with them if necessary. This can also be used as a predefined list of users to make it easier to select the name instead of typing.

To add or update the list of mobile workers, complete the following steps:

1. Sign into your ArcGIS organization.
2. Search for the IndividualAssistance feature layer and open the item details.
3. Click Data.
4. Click Fields.
5. Scroll near the bottom and click the Assigned To field.
6. Click Create List.
7. For Label and Code enter values that represent the ArcGIS username.

   Note:

   The Code field value needs to match the ArcGIS username. The Label field value can be a user-friendly name or also be the username.

8. Repeat and add all the usernames that are supporting operations for your active incident.
9. Click Save.

   Now when assigning users in the Damage Assessment Operations app, you will be able to select mobile workers from a drop-down list. This will help ensure consistency.

10. Repeat all the above steps for the PublicAssistance feature layer and save.

    Note:

    In the Damage Assessment Manager app within the Damage Assessment Operations app, the Update Multiple Reports widget includes a drop-down list that can be used to easily assign users. This widget requires the list for both the IndividualAssistance and PublicAssistance mobile workers be identical.

Update help

Additionally, you may choose to update the Damage Assessment Operations help page to include step-by-step instructions appropriate for your organization. To get started, copy the help documentation into the page and then modify it to fit your organizational needs.

Configure the Damage Assessment Operations app help page to fit your organization by completing the following steps:

1. Navigate to the item page for the Damage Assessment Center app and click the Edit button.
2. Click the Page button to open the page panel and select the Help page.
3. Use the Body node of the page panel to navigate between each section.
4. To update the text or images select the element in the layout and make the necessary changes.
5. Click Save then click publish in ArcGIS Experience Builder.

Configure the Damage Assessment site

The Damage Assessment solution includes the Damage Assessment ArcGIS Hub. This site can be configured with your organization's branding and used to share information with the public.

To update the site with your organizational information, complete the following steps:

Prepare images for the Damage Assessment site

To locate QR codes for the Damage Assessment site internal destination page, complete the following steps:

1. Verify that you are signed in to your ArcGIS organization.
2. Click the Apps button in the header of the site and click QuickCapture.
3. Open the Windshield Damage Report project and click Share.
4. In the Sharing dialog box, under Sharing options, click QR Code, and then right-click the QR code and save the image locally.
5. Close the ArcGIS QuickCapture designer.
6. Open ArcGIS Survey123 and sign in, if necessary.
7. Open the Individual Assistance Survey.
8. Click Collaborate.
9. Next to Share this survey, click the Show the QR Code button and then click Click to download.
10. Repeat the previous steps for the Individual Assistance Express Survey and Public Assistance Survey.
11. Close the ArcGIS Survey123 website.

Update with organizational information

After deploying the Damage Assessment solution, the Damage Assessment Hub layout requires a few updates to fit your local context.

To update the site with your organizational information, complete the following steps:

1. Verify that you are signed in to your ArcGIS organization and browse to the Damage Assessment site.
2. Open the item page and click Configure App.
3. At the top of the site, hover over the animated message and click the click the edit pencil , and then click Edit in HTML.
4. Update the existing text to the message that you want promote with the community.
   The existing code is <span>Advisory issued on Sept 19, 2021 at 8:00AM EST. Watch for severe flooding.<strong> Adhere to local evacuation notices</strong>.</span>

   Note:

   You can remove an animated banner when a warning period has expired or there is nothing to report. In edit mode, point to the animated banner. On the right, in the vertical toolbar, click the edit pencil. In the side panel, scroll to Row CSS Class and delete the word warning. When you are ready to enable the animated banner, type warning in the Row CSS Class text box, and then, if necessary, repeat the previous step to modify the message.

5. Click Save.
6. Scroll to any sections that you want to update, hover over the card, and click the edit pencil that appears in the horizontal toolbar, and then edit the content with information specific to your organization.
7. On the side panel, click Footer.

   A custom footer is provided. In most cases, you'll need to update it with your organization's branding, contact information, and social media references.

8. Click the HTML text box.

   The HTML window appears.

9. Make the necessary changes and click Apply.
10. Click Save.
11. Click the Save drop-down arrow and click Publish Draft.
Next, you will edit content on the associated Internal Destination Hub page.
12. In the side panel, next to Customize, click the number of associated pages button.
13. Under Home, click Internal Destination.
14. Scroll to the Windshield Damage Report section, hover over the Place QR Code Here image card, and click the edit pencil.
15. In the side panel, click the Clear Image button to delete the placeholder image, and then upload the QR code that you previously saved locally.
16. Repeat these steps to replace the QR code placeholder images for the Individual Assistance Survey, Individual Assistance Express Survey and Public Assistance Survey sections.
17. Scroll down to Damage Categories and find the placeholder for damage categories, Affected, Minor, Major, Destroyed and Inaccessible. Replace the placeholder images with your own damage guidance photos.
18. Scroll to the Frequently Asked Questions section, hover over the card and click the edit pencil, and update the questions and answers.
19. On the Internal Destination hub page click Save. Under the Save menu click Publish Draft.

    You may now share your HUB page with others in your organization with unique QR codes for your mobile applications to provide quick access to mobile personnel.

20. Click Save.
21. Click the Save drop-down arrow and click Publish Draft.
You can now share your internal Hub page with others in your organization. The unique QR codes provide field personnel with quick access to your organization's mobile applications.

Share items with the public

Several layer views, maps and apps included in the Damage Assessment solution must be shared with everyone so they can be accessed by the public on the Damage Assessment site.

To share items with the public, complete the following steps:

1. Verify that you are signed in to your ArcGIS organization and browse to the Damage Assessment folder.
2. Next to each of the following items, check the check box:

   Name	Item type
   Public Damage Report	Form
   IndividualAssistance_report	Feature layer (hosted, view)
   Public Damage Report	Web Map
   Damage Assessment Photo Viewer	Web Mapping Application
   Damage Assessment Photo Viewer	Web Map
   IndividualAssistance_public	Feature layer (hosted, view)
   Damage Assessment	Site Application

   Caution:

   The Internal Destination page should not be shared with the public.
3. Click Share.
4. In the Share window, click Everyone (public) and click Save.

   The Warning: Sharing editable layers publicly message appears notifying you that you are sharing editable layers publicly.

5. Click Update.