PDA

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  • PDA: Preliminary Damage Assessment

PDA: Preliminary Damage Assessment.

What is a Joint Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA)?

A Joint PDA is a joint, standard framework used by local, state, tribal, and federal officials to evaluate the scale, severity, and financial impact of a disaster.

Its core goal is to determine whether the damage exceeds the state or tribal government's ability to recover on its own, thereby justifying a request for a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration or an SBA Disaster Declaration.

The Step-by-Step PDA Process

1. Initial Damage Assessment (IDA)

  • Who does it: Local and tribal emergency managers.

  • What happens: Immediately following an event, local teams perform "windshield surveys," collecting photos, self-reported resident claims, and spatial data (drones, GIS). They categorize damaged homes as Affected, Minor, Major, or Destroyed.

2. Formal Request for a Joint PDA

  • Who does it: State Governor or Tribal Leader.

  • What happens: If the initial estimates show the disaster is beyond local and state capacity, the Governor formally requests a Joint PDA with FEMA.

3. Joint PDA Field & Remote Evaluations

  • Who does it: Joint teams made up of FEMA representatives, SBA specialists, state emergency personnel, and local officials.

  • What happens:

    • Individual Assistance (IA) / SBA Focus: Teams inspect homes and local businesses to estimate uninsured losses, habitability issues, and structural damage. The SBA specifically assesses business physical and economic losses to see if low-interest disaster loans should be triggered.

    • Public Assistance (PA) Focus: Teams review infrastructure damage (roads, bridges, utilities, schools, public buildings) and disaster costs like debris removal and emergency protective work.

4. Declaration Request & FEMA Recommendation

  • Who does it: State/Tribal Leadership and FEMA Regional/National Directors.

  • What happens: The state uses the verified PDA data to draft a formal letter requesting federal assistance. FEMA evaluates the qualitative and quantitative data against national financial thresholds and submits a recommendation to the President.

5. Presidential Decision & Program Activation

  • Who does it: The President of the United States.

  • What happens: If approved, federal programs open up to survivors and public entities, including:

    • FEMA Individual Assistance: Grants for temporary housing, essential repairs, and basic personal property losses.

    • FEMA Public Assistance: Grants to local governments to repair infrastructure and public facilities.

    • SBA Disaster Loans: Low-interest loans for homeowners, renters, businesses, and non-profits to cover uninsured property losses and working capital.