Question:
Can I use any parcel shapefile with this tool?
Answer:
Yes. The theme must be the first (top-most) "active" theme in the view. The theme must have the following four fields: lu, pid, rcn, and staddress. Land use code is "lu". The field can be defined as either number or character. It can be blank. Property/parcel identification is "pid". The field can be defined as either number or character. It can also be blank. Address of the property is "staddress". The field can be defined as either number or character. It can also be blank. Property value of the home is "rcn". If blank, the user will be queried for a value; "unknown value" is acceptable. The "rcn" field must be defined as numeric, as mathematical functions are performed on the value in the record.

Question:
Can I process multiple records at once?
Answer:
You can only do multiple selections on housing units. All records with "unknown" property values will be coded -9999 in the H-xxxxxxxx.dbf file. Public assistance and business facilities must be entered one record at a time. There is too much site-specific information to allow for a mass processing of business and public assistance facilities.

Question:
Is my data altered in any way using the Damage Assessment Tool?
Answer:
No data is added to the active theme's .dbf file. Values from four fields (pid, lu, staddress, rcn) are extracted to populate an independent .dbf file. If the fourth button on the far right (Draw Legend) is used, a file called visit.dbf is created and joined to the parcel database. This join will allow the user to see which properties have been assessed. This join will be removed and visited.dbf will be deleted when you select the far right tool (Draw Legend) and click on Cancel in the pop up dialog box.

Question:
Where can I find more more information about the field names and values recorded in the Housing (H-xxxxxxxx.dbf), Business, (B-xxxxxxxx.dbf), and (PA-xxxxxxxx.dbf) files?
Answer:

• For information on the housing file (H-xxxxxxxx.dbf)
• For information on the business file (B-xxxxxxxx.dbf)
• For information on the public assistance file (PA-xxxxxxxx.dbf)

Question:
What is the *.odb file that is residing in my working directory? (e.g., H-05101999.odb)
Answer:
In addition to collecting information about an individual parcel, more general information that is required by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) can also be collected. This information includes, but is not limited to, assessment team, type of hazard, and date of event. This general information is stored in a text file with an .odb extension. For example, a damage assessment performed on February 5, 1999, will create an *.odb file named 02051999.odb. When the third tool from left (Create a Layout) is used, the *.odb file is read and information is extracted and placed on the hard copy layout/form. The *.odb file is a text file and can be viewed but should not be altered, as it it used create the hard copy.

Question:
What is the visited.dbf file that is residing in my working directory?
Answer:
This file is created when the fourth tool (Draw a Legend) is used. This file is created so a join can be performed and parcels will be colored. To delete this file and remove the join, click the fourth tool (Draw a Legend) and click Cancel in the dialog box. This will remove the join and delete the visited.dbf file.

Question:
How are the files containing the information collected in the field stored and named?
Answer:
The files are stored in standard dbase format (.dbf). Depending on the type of loss, the files have the prefix "B-" for business property, "H-" for housing property, and "PA-" for a public assistance facility. The rest of the file name is the date that the database was created (MMDDYYYY). For example, a database for Housing created December 11, 1998, will have the following name: H-12111998.dbf.

Question:
In what directory are these files saved?
Answer:
These files are created in the ArcView® working directory, as defined by the user. When a user begins to record entries of a damage assessment, a file is created in the working directory. Once the file exists, future records entered that same day are appended to this file. A new file is created each day. ArcView's default working directory is $HOME.

Question:
What other files are created by this extension and where are they stored?
Answer:
This application creates three types of files other than the records of assessed property. The *.odb file is named using a convention similar to that of the .dbf file; it has a prefix of "H-", "B-", or "PA-", depending on whether its a house, business, or public assistance location, respectively. That tag is followed by the date of collection (MMDDYYYY) and has the suffix of .odb (e.g., H-12111998.odb). The *.odb file is not used to populate the database; it is used to place information such as county, assessment team, or municipality onto the printed layout. This file should not be deleted and should always remain in the directory of its sibling, the .dbf file. It is not necessary for a user to alter this file.

A second file is created if the fourth tool (Draw Legend) is used. This file is created so a join can be performed and the visited parcels can be shaded in the legend. The file created is called visited.dbf. This file is deleted and the join is removed when you select the fourth tool (Draw Legend) and click the Cancel button.

A third type of file is associated with the Public Assistance form's entry for debris removal. A total cost for debris removal is added to the PA-xxxxxxxx.dbf file. The details for debris removal are preserved in a *.dbf file. The details can be referenced in the Public Assistance details page.

Question:
Can I move a damage assessment file to another directory?
Answer:
Yes, but always move the accompanying .odb file with it.

Question:
Can I rename my files?
Answer:
Yes, but the file must still have a prefix of either "H", "B", or "PA" to create ArcView layouts. You must rename the sibling .odb the same name but with a suffix of .odb. For example, if you wish to rename a database file titled B-12111998.dbf to a name called B-bonnie.dbf, you must also rename the related .odb file (B-12111998.odb) to B-bonnie.odb.