The Damage Assessment Tool extension can be found in the \software\exten directory. A cheat sheet and set of FAQs are also available. The Cheat Sheet is a quick run down on how to enable and use the Damage Assessment Tool. Users wanting to be up and running immediately should consult the Damage Assessment Cheat Sheet.

Any questions or comments can be e-mailed to: csc.clearinghouse@noaa.gov. Please title Subject line of e-mail as: Damage Assessment App.

Damage Assessment Cheat Sheet

This help file was written for those already familiar with ArcView® 3.1 and the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Damage Assessment forms for Housing, Business, and Public Assistance. If, using ArcView, you are able to set a working directory, enable an extension, and make your parcel theme the first active theme, then read on. Beginners and people interested in learning more about the tool should read the more detailed overview.

Step 1: The Damage Assessment extension (damage.avx) must be placed into the $AVHOME\av_gis30\ext32 directory within the ESRI home directory. The Damage Assessment Tool is now ready for use.

Step 2: Enable the Damage Assessment Tool extension from the extension list in ArcView.

Step 3: Four new buttons will now appear in the view graphical user interface (GUI); they will appear in between the standard set of view buttons and the scale display.

Step 4: The tool will use the first active theme in the view.

Step 5: Set the working directory; this will be the directory that will hold the *.dbf files created with the tool.

Step 6: The first new tool on the far left (Select a Parcel(s)) is used to select the desired parcel/polygon.

Step 7: The second new tool, second from left (Select a Database), allows the user to choose which type of damage assessment form they want to create. The three forms are Housing, Business, and Public Assistance. Once information is added to the dialog boxes, a *.dbf file will be created in ArcView's working directory. The files will have the following rules for naming:

• Housing files will begin with "H-".
• Business files will begin with "B-".
• Public Assistance files will begin with "PA-".

All files will be named according to the date they were created. For example, a Housing file created on May 7 1999 will be named H-05071999.dbf. A Business file created on June 16, 1999 will be named B-06161999.dbf. A Public Assistance file created on August 20, 1999 will be named PA-08201999.dbf. These files are standard *.dbf files that can be viewed in tables or brought into any other package that can view *.dbf files.

Step 8: The third new tool from the left (Create a Layout) allows you to select a file that will be used to create an ArcView layout. The layout will conform to one of the three forms required by FEMA for federal assistance. If a Business file (e.g., B-06161999.dbf) is selected, then a layout conforming to FEMA's Damage Assessment - Business form will be created. The same is true for Public Assistance or Housing forms. These layouts can be printed; they are legal size (8.5 inches by 11 inches).

Step 9: The fourth new tool from the left, (Draw Legend), will shade the parcels/polygons that were already assessed. To use, click on the far right button, and a dialog box will appear; select a file or a number of files (PA-08201999.dbf, H-05241999.dbf), click Return and the polygons that were visited will be shaded red, while all other parcels will be shaded green. To restore all parcels/polygons back to one color, select the far right button again (Draw Legend), then hit Cancel when the dialog box appears.

Step 10: The fourth tool, (Draw Legend), creates a file in the working directory called visited.dbf. While the parcels are shaded green and red, visited.dbf will be joined to the parcel's database. To remove the join and delete the visited.dbf file, click the far right tool (Draw Legend) and click Cancel. This will cause the join to be removed, the parcels to be shaded green, and the visited.dbf to be deleted. The purpose of this tool is to illustrate which parcels/polygons were visited and which were not. This tool is useful when an assessor has been visiting many properties in the community.

Step 11: An explanation of the field names will help the user if he/she is unsure of what information was added or needs to be added. These and any other questions can be answered in the Frequently Asked Questions Sections.

• Information on the Housing file (H-xxxxxxxx.dbf)
• Information on the Business file (B-xxxxxxxx.dbf)
• Information on the Public Assistance file (PA-xxxxxxxx.dbf)

Step 12: Miscellaneous: Black dots in the view's display are simple graphics that are there for reference; they can be deleted.

Step 13: Known Problems/Bugs: Selected parcels will appear unselected if the Draw Legend tool is used and a user attempts to change the map extent. This is a bug and has been reported to ESRI. The bug number is CQ00085305. Reference this number with ESRI Tech Support for progress on the bug. The work arounds are: (1) Turn off the Legend by clicking the Draw Legend button and then clicking Cancel on the dialog box. (2) After changing Map extent, select a "dummy parcel" and then select the correct parcel and the desired parcel will highlight in the familiar yellow color. (3) Don't change map extent after selecting a parcel.