DISASTER RECOVERY TRACKING TOOL: User Guide

DISASTER RECOVERY TRACKING TOOL: User Guide Version: March 29, 2015 Project Pilot If you require any additional help with the www.communityrecoverytool.com website, please send an email to communityrecovery@unc.edu

Table of Contents PROJECT BACKGROUND... 3 MEASURING RECOVERY THROUGH HEALTHY COMMUNITY INDICATORS... 3 RECOVERY FOCUS AREAS AND INDICATORS... 6 DISASTER RECOVERY TRACKING TOOL: User Instructions... 8 ADMINISTRATOR: REGISTRATION... 8 NAVIGATING THE TOOL... 9 BROWSING THE TOOL... 10 ADMINSTRATOR TRACKING... 12 ENTERING DATA: ADMINISTRATOR... 13 ADMINISTRATOR OPTIONS... 16 AUTHORIZED USER... 17 BROWSING THE TOOL: USER... 17 ENTERING DATA: USER... 19 2

PROJECT BACKGROUND MEASURING RECOVERY THROUGH HEALTHY COMMUNITY INDICATORS Background and Context Community recovery from a disaster is a key capability for federal, state, and local governments. Until now, measurable, validated indicators to assess long-term recovery outcomes have not been available. To effectively support this capability, as well as to promote the systematic collection and sharing of data to inform future recovery efforts, practitioners need useful and validated methods of measuring of changes over time in relevant community characteristics. To facilitate your community s evaluation of recovery outcomes, this tool provides 81 metrics, organized within ten focus areas (sidebar), for tracking progress towards recovery. Using this tool allows for pre- and post-disaster comparisons to be made using baseline and current data, providing the end-user with a useful means of prioritizing recovery goals and activities. Identifying Recovery Indicators The development of any indicator is based on a well-defined process, typically including three phases: 1) defining the objectives of the indicator; 2) identifying a guiding framework; and 3) selecting specific variables through the consensus of experts. The most valuable and defensible indicators are easy to assess, cost effective, and useful for decision making in practice, research, or policy settings. These indicators were developed through a multi-step process that included a review of the academic literature on disaster recovery, as well as a review of state and local disaster recovery plans from counties and municipalities along the TEN RECOVERY FOCUS AREAS 1. Business Recovery & Economic Stabilization 2. Improved Disaster & Recovery Management 3. Mobilization of Recovery Funding 4. Healthy Communities & Social Services 5. Household Recovery 6. Population Characteristics 7. Public Sector Recovery 8. Public Buildings & Infrastructure 9. Restoration of Cultural Sites & Resources 10. Restoration of Natural Resources Southeast U.S. coast, and a case study analysis of two communities recovering from recent disasters (New Hanover County, North Carolina and Hoboken, New Jersey). Focus groups and key informant interviews with researchers, practitioners and planners have been conducted to gain feedback on the indicators. Additionally, a pilot study was conducted in four communities impacted by 2012 s Superstorm Sandy. 3

Using the Disaster Recovery Indicators Tool Practitioners are able to access the tool via the Internet (www.communityrecoverytool.com) to facilitate collection and recording of data necessary to determine the status of each recovery metric. Use of this tool ideally begins in the pre-disaster time period, allowing for the determination of a baseline for each metric. Additional data points can subsequently be entered at any time. If at any point the community should experience a disaster, a baseline will then be in place by which to gauge the community s progress towards recovery. Freely available data (i.e. US Census demographics) is pre-populated for certain metrics based on county or zip code; other metrics demand more place-specific details, requiring the user to engage in data collection. A certain number of metrics are inherently qualitative in nature, requiring the user to provide a narrative account for the baseline status and any additional points of data collection desired. FOCUS AREA: Household Recovery Metrics are organized within Recovery Focus Areas, as illustrated in the example to the right. In this example, the Focus Area is Household Recovery, and a sample selection of the metrics contained within that focus area are shown. Practitioners using the web tool can click on any of the ten focus areas in order to access the metrics contained within each one. Once the user has entered into a focus area, the available metrics for that category are displayed and described, and potential sources of data for each metric will be suggested. A user may then select the metrics for which they would like to enter information, and new data points can be recorded and saved. It is not necessary to input data for all of the metrics in order to benefit from this tool, although more information is likely to provide better results when assessing long-term disaster recovery. Average Housing Tenure Median/ Mean Home Value Number of Abandoned Housing Units Vacancy Rates Median/Mean Household Income Thematic Organization Feedback from key informant interviews and focus groups informed the development of four major thematic areas, serving as an organizing structure for one to three Recovery Focus Areas. The four groups - Finance, Process, Social, and Public Sector - highlight broader recovery goals represented by the recovery metrics. The Finance theme includes Recovery Focus Areas addressing the management of funding and the recovery of the community s economic sector. The Public Sector theme includes Recovery Focus Areas examining recovery outcomes in areas such as the functionality and continuity of government; repair/rebuilding of public buildings and infrastructure; and restoration of natural resources. The Process theme contains a focus area addressing the quality of the recovery process as a component of the larger 4

disaster management continuum. And, finally, the Social theme examines recovery at the individual and community level by focusing on household recovery; the re-establishment of community services; the demographics of the population; and the availability of cultural resources. Hierarchy of Metrics Users will notice that, within some Focus Areas, metrics have been separated into Primary and Secondary metrics. Primary metrics are those with easily identifiable data sources as well as those metrics known to more heavily influence the trajectory of a community s recovery. It is recommended that users attempt to collect data for as many primary metrics as possible. Secondary metrics are also important measures of community recovery and users are urged to attempt to record data for them as well. They may, however, prove more elusive to quantify, or they may be dependent on the identification of other primary metrics. Practitioners are able to navigate among the primary and secondary metrics in order to input available data. *Note: For ease of use, the pilot website does not yet incorporate the hierarchy of indicators. Equity The equitable distribution of resources and capacity is an integral consideration during the disaster recovery process. The Recovery Indicators Tool addresses this criticality by recognizing specific metrics that address the equitable recovery of socially vulnerable populations. Because these metrics cut across all of the Recovery Focus Areas, an asterisk identifies them. Users are able to access the list of equity-related metrics in order to ensure that recovery efforts have addressed all segments of the population, particularly those most in need of assistance. Benefits of the Recovery Indicators Tool In addition to providing useful information for a community as they move through the continuum of recovery, the development of a robust set of recovery indicators, with associated quantifiable metrics, can support and build the capacity of local practitioners by providing the basis for informed decision making during recovery. Capacity building, particularly at the local level, is a major focus of FEMA s recently issued National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF) as it is recognized to improve long-term community recovery outcomes. Collecting data for these indicators of community recovery, at any point in time, assists in the development of a detailed community fact base critical to the creation of a high quality recovery plan and supports the development and implementation of a community road map for a safer and more resilient future. 5

1. BUSINESS RECOVERY & ECONOMIC STABILIZATION Primary Indicators: Total businesses located in community Total disaster-related business closures Average level of business insurance Number of commercial bankruptcies Economic output Secondary Indicators: Total businesses located in central business district Number of small businesses Number of large businesses Restoration of business supply lines Net business gain/loss Economic structure (sector-share) in community Return of client/customer base Financial Theme Process Theme Public Sector Social Theme RECOVERY FOCUS AREAS AND INDICATORS 2. IMPROVED DISASTER & RECOVERY MANAGEMENT Primary Indicators: Number of hazard mitigation, emergency preparedness and recovery public meetings held and number of public participants Disaster management plans (emergency preparedness/ hazard mitigation/recovery plan) developed or updated post-disaster Disaster management plans (emergency preparedness/hazard mitigation/recovery plans) address vulnerable populations (seniors, lowincome persons, non-english speakers) Improved community resiliency Outreach methods used to engage public in disaster planning (e.g. radio & television advertisements, brochures, web surveys) Number of organizations involved in recovery and disaster management planning processes Government monitoring of recovery plan goal progress Recovery plan used to initiate recommendations for enactment or repeal of procedures, or extension of emergency resolutions, ordinances and orders Secondary Indicators Regulations implemented for priority resettlement areas Building moratoria lifted 3. MOBILIZATION OF RECOVERY FUNDING Primary Indicators: Amount of FEMA funding distributed Amount of non-fema recovery funding distributed Amount of donations received Amount of insurance payments received Total funding used for permanent reconstruction projects 4. HEALTHY COMMUNITIES & SOCIAL SERVICES Primary Indicators: Availability of social services Re-establishment of social networks and community facilities (e.g. re-establishment of schools, community facilities, houses of worship, etc.) Re-establishment of day care, after-school and teen programs Community health care facilities operational Workforce assistance programs available Number of physicians returned to pre-disaster level Secondary Indicators: Organizations available to offer disaster-related medical or mental health support for posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, etc. Number of domestic violence incidents Self-reported trust rating of local government 6

5. HOUSEHOLD RECOVERY Primary Indicators: Average housing tenure Owner-occupied and renter-occupied housing units Percent of population residing in temporary housing units Average level of homeowner s insurance Median/mean home value Median/mean household income Vacancy rates/ Number of households returned Number of abandoned housing units 6. POPULATION CHARACTERISTICS Primary Indicators: Total population Disaster-displaced individuals Unemployment rate Households under poverty rate Population without access to a car Population over age 65 Population under age 12 Population disabled Population without high school diploma Population non-white Population non-english speakers Households headed by single mothers 7. PUBLIC SECTOR RECOVERY Primary Indicators: Governing body fully functioning Number of civic organizations Tax revenue Public services available Children enrolled in community schools Number of voter registrations 8. PUBLIC BUILDINGS & INFRASTRUCTURE Primary Indicators: Re-establishment of transportation and transit system(s) (local and regional) Public transit ridership Miles of disaster-damaged roads and bridges repaired Damages to critical infrastructure (i.e. utilities, water treatment, gas pipelines, etc.) repaired Railway and maritime shipping infrastructure repaired Damages to public facilities repaired (i.e. municipal buildings) Status of debris management 9. RESTORATION OF CULTURAL SITES & RESOURCES Primary Indicators: Reconstruction/repair of damaged cultural or heritage sites (i.e. landmarks, artifacts, etc.) Reconstruction/repair of damaged arts and religious facilities Re-establishment of arts and sports organizations Religious service attendance 10. RESTORATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES Primary Indicators: Re-establishment of environmental governance/ pollution monitoring Restoration of protected natural areas Coastlines and wetlands assessed to determine if additional hazard mitigation measures should be implemented Damages to coral reefs, shrimp hatcheries or other coastal resources inventoried Soil testing at debris management sites Rates of erosion Incidence of landslides 7

DISASTER RECOVERY TRACKING TOOL: User Instructions ADMINISTRATOR: REGISTRATION New Users: On the Disaster Recovery Tracking Tool homepage click REGISTER NOW to register a new user; Enter the required information: Your full name; Email address; Desired User Name (user name must be 16 characters or less); and Password Click SUBMIT. A registration email will be sent to the email you used to register to confirm your account (if you do not receive the confirmation email within 5 minutes of submitting you registration, please check your Spam or Junk folders to ensure the email was not misfiled) Click on the link provided in the email to confirm your registration (you will receive another email completing the registration process, no action is required on this email) You will be brought to a Thank You page, click on Click here to login 8

NAVIGATING THE TOOL Click LOGIN located on the upper right corner of the DRTT homepage, if you are not logged in from the previous step Enter the User Name and Password you created in Step One : Click SUBMIT You will be directed to the Community Administrator Home Page: 9

BROWSING THE TOOL If you would like to more about the tool, click LEARN (if you are ready to begin tracking data, skip to the Administrator Tracking OR User Tracking sections below. Learn You will be prompted to select a Theme/Topic from the selections in the leftmost text box: Once you have chosen a Theme/Topic, a selection of Focus Areas found within that theme will be available (in this example, we have chosen the Financial theme, revealing two available Focus Areas): Choosing a Focus Area will allow you to explore the metrics available to track within that Focus Area; a brief description of the metric, potential data sources, and additional considerations is available for review (in this example, we are looking at metrics contained within the Mobilization of Recovery Funding Focus Area, with the description for the first metric visible): 10

We suggest taking some time to explore the focus areas and metrics within all the thematic areas before moving on tracking data. Metrics identified with a signify metrics that can be prepopulated with 2009-13 ACS 5-year data; metrics identified with a * are metrics that help to assess equity concerns. Metrics can be explored at anytime by clicking LEARN at the top of the home page. Click ABOUT at the top right of the home page for additional project information. 11

ADMINSTRATOR TRACKING If you are ready to begin tracking a new disaster, click HOME to return to the Tool s main page; You will be returned to the Tracking Tool s Home Page, once on this page click ADMINISTRATOR PAGE; The Community Administrator Home Page offers a number of selections: To begin tracking a new disaster, click ENTER COMMUNITY TRACKING SITE You will be prompted to enter a number of details about your geographic location and the disaster recovery you are tracking: *NOTE: Please be advised that when you enter your geographic information, you will not be able to change it moving forward. The geographic designation is used to pre-populate a number 12

of metrics using available US Census data; using the county will be less geographically specific but more information may be available. Using the zip code will be more sensitive to geographic location but occasionally result in the user having to acquire more data independent of the tool. For the user guide examples, we are using Granbury City, Texas. When you have completed entering the necessary information, click on CREATE. You will receive a message: New Disaster Tracking Site established, click continue to begin entering data, click CONTINUE You will be directed to a new page with the name and date of the disaster at the top of the page and the themes, Focus Areas, and metrics menus available for you to start tracking or browsing data. The user can opt to click show primary only in order to pull up an abridged version of the metrics for ease of entry. ENTERING DATA: ADMINISTRATOR There are two ways that data can be added to the tracking tool: manually by the user or, when available, by using the Add Census data option: Manual Entry When manually entering data, navigate to the metric you d like to track and then click the + next to Add Data Point. The metric will expand so that it looks like the following example: At this point, the user can enter a data source, the value and any comments necessary to understanding the data (i.e. any narrative information that might supplement the data). Once the data has been correctly entered, click SUBMIT. After you have submitted the data entry, the metric will appear as follows: 13

At this point, three new options will be available for the metric: delete the entry (red X), graph the data (green box), or edit the data point (pencil icon). Additional data points can be entered following the steps outlined above for manually entering a new data point for other metrics or for updating data in the same metric to report current conditions at a later date. Add Census data A number of metrics have the option to add data directly from the US Census 2009-13 ACS 5- year data based on the geography designated during the disaster registration process. These metrics (identified with a symbol) allow the user to either input data manually or click a button to quickly pull data from the Census. To use the Census data function, click the green arrow located next to Auto-populate data. Your metric will automatically be populated with the relevant data for the geography you indicated (in our example, Granbury City, Texas): You may want to quickly view all the metrics for which you have entered data. To do this, click on All metrics with data in the theme/topic menu. You will be presented with all the Focus Areas that have data available. Clicking on any of the Focus Areas will reveal the metrics within that area that have data. Continue entering baseline data manually or using auto-populate for all metrics of interest. Entries will be saved allowing the user to report data in multiple sessions, with multiple users. 14

Post-Disaster Data Entry Ideally, the tool will have been populated with baseline data prior to the occurrence of a disaster. To illustrate how post-disaster data can be entered we will use the example of Granbury, Texas. We will imagine that, in Granbury City, Texas, prior to the 2013 EF-4 tornado, there were 25 businesses in the Central Business District (CBD). Six months after the disaster, a local economic survey has revealed that 15 businesses remain; one year after the disaster 22 businesses are located in the CBD. We have added a data point for each date: The data can be graphically represented by clicking on the green graph square next to any of the data points: 15

ADMINISTRATOR OPTIONS New User Registration To create new users authorized to enter data in your disaster tracking page, click HOME to return to the main page. On the home page, click ADMINISTRATOR PAGE to access options available to the site administrator. Once on the Community Administrator Home Page, click CREATE/MANAGE USERS FOR THIS SITE. You will be brought to a User Accounts page, showing information on any team members you have added as authorized users. For each team member, you are able to customize a number of options, including the focus areas each team member is authorized to access. To create a new user, click on ADD NEW USER TO THIS TEAM. You are then prompted to enter information about the team member you d like to add including: name, user name (16 characters or less), password, and focus areas. Click SUBMIT to process the new team member. You will be brought to a confirmation page indicating your User Registration is complete with options to return to the User Accounts Page or the Community Recovery Home Page. Change Community Details The site administrator has the option to make changes relating to the community s account. Click on CHANGE COMMUNITY DETAILS/ACCOUNT PAGE to access these options. If you need to make any changes to the information you entered during the disaster tracking registration 16

process (such as date, disaster type, adding a disaster declaration number, etc.), make the necessary edits and click SUBMIT CHANGES. Change Administrator Password The Community Administrator Home Page provides an option to change the administrator s password, if necessary. AUTHORIZED USER If an administrator has added you as an authorized user of the Disaster Recovery Tracking Tool, you will receive a welcome email from Community Recovery Tool with your User Name and Password. Click on the email link or go directly to www.communityrecoverytool.com to begin using the tool. Log in with the credentials provided in your welcome email, and then click to enter the recovery site. BROWSING THE TOOL: USER If you would like to more about the tool, click LEARN (if you are ready to begin tracking data, skip to the Administrator Tracking OR User Tracking sections below. Learn You will be prompted to select a Theme/Topic from the selections in the leftmost text box: 17

Once you have chosen a Theme/Topic, a selection of Focus Areas found within that theme will be available (in this example, we have chosen the Financial theme, revealing two available Focus Areas): Choosing a Focus Area will allow you to explore the metrics available to track within that Focus Area; a brief description of the metric, potential data sources, and additional considerations is available for review (in this example, we are looking at metrics contained within the Mobilization of Recovery Funding Focus Area, with the description for the first metric visible): We suggest taking some time to explore the focus areas and metrics within all the thematic areas before moving on tracking data. Metrics identified with a signify metrics that can be prepopulated with 2009-13 ACS 5-year data; metrics identified with a * are metrics that help to assess equity concerns. Metrics can be explored at anytime by clicking LEARN at the top of the home page. Click ABOUT at the top right of the home page for additional project information. 18

ENTERING DATA: USER When you are ready to begin tracking data, return to the home page (found on the menu at the top right) and click COMMUNITY TRACKING PAGE. You will be directed to a new page with the name and date of the disaster at the top of the page and the themes, Focus Areas, and metrics menus available for you to start tracking or browsing data. The user can opt to click show primary only in order to pull up an abridged version of the metrics for ease of entry. NOTE: When the site administrator created your user account, you were authorized at that time to access some, or all, Focus Areas, based on your community s needs and other considerations. The following instructions apply only to those areas you have access to- the metrics within these Focus Areas will have data management options available to you. If you were not authorized for a Focus Area, you will not have data entry options like those described in the following section. There are two ways that data can be added to the tracking tool: manually by the user or, when available, by using the Add Census data option: Manual Entry When manually entering data, navigate to the metric you d like to track and then click the + next to Add Data Point. The metric will expand so that it looks like the following example: At this point, the user can enter a data source, the value and any comments necessary to understanding the data (i.e. any narrative information that might supplement the data). Once the data has been correctly entered, click SUBMIT. After you have submitted the data entry, the metric will appear as follows: 19

At this point, three new options will be available for the metric: delete the entry (red X), graph the data (green box), or edit the data point (pencil icon). Additional data points can be entered following the steps outlined above for manually entering a new data point for other metrics or for updating data in the same metric to report current conditions at a later date. Add Census data A number of metrics have the option to add data directly from the US Census 2009-13 ACS 5- year data based on the geography designated during the disaster registration process. These metrics (identified with a symbol) allow the user to either input data manually or click a button to quickly pull data from the Census. To use the Census data function, click the green arrow located next to Auto-populate data. Your metric will automatically be populated with the relevant data for the geography you indicated (in our example, Granbury City, Texas): You may want to quickly view all the metrics for which you have entered data. To do this, click on All metrics with data in the theme/topic menu. You will be presented with all the Focus Areas that have data available. Clicking on any of the Focus Areas will reveal the metrics within that area that have data. Continue entering baseline data manually or using auto-populate for all metrics of interest. Entries will be saved allowing the user to report data in multiple sessions, with multiple users. 20

Post-Disaster Data Entry Ideally, the tool will have been populated with baseline data prior to the occurrence of a disaster. To illustrate how post-disaster data can be entered we will use the example of Granbury, Texas. We will imagine that, in Granbury City, Texas, prior to the 2013 EF-4 tornado, there were 25 businesses in the Central Business District (CBD). Six months after the disaster, a local economic survey has revealed that 15 businesses remain; one year after the disaster 22 businesses are located in the CBD. We have added a data point for each date: The data can be graphically represented by clicking on the green graph square next to any of the data points: 21

This material is based upon work supported by the Coastal Hazards Center of Excellence, a US Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate Center of Excellence under Award Number: 2008-ST-061- ND 0001. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily representing the official policies, either expressed or implied, of the US Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate. 22