Immediate recovery from a disaster is necessary to regain socio-economic stability and avoid further human suffering. As soon as possible after a disaster, livelihoods are restored, social services are made available, and components of the economic supply chains are re-established under a functioning government. However, post-disaster recovery activities, strategies, and priorities should be based on reliable information on the effects and impacts of the disaster across sectors in various areas. To efficiently estimate the disaster effects - the value of damage to physical assets and changes in financial flows by sector- the Post-Disaster Damage and Loss Reporting System (DDLRS) was developed for the Department of Disaster Management (DMC) under the Ministry of Disaster Management of Sri Lanka with the assistance from the World Bank (WB).

The DDLRS is based on the internationally accepted methodology for the Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) covering the following sectors: Agriculture (Agrarian, Livestock, Fisheries, and Irrigation), Housing, Health, Education, Water Supply, Power Supply, Transportation (Land, Air, Water, and Rail), Tourism, Telecommunications, Industry and Services, Mining, and Other Government Services. The information generated by the DDLRS will enable the Government of Sri Lanka to effectively assess the social and economic impacts of disasters across sectors and geographical areas which are inputs in preparing the post-disaster recovery and reconstruction plan.

A set of Guidance Notes for each sector is also included to provide the definition of the terms, explanation of concepts, and guide in assessing the social and economic impacts due to the damages and losses. With the DDLRS as an efficient assessment tool, it is expected that the preparation of the PDNA report will be hastened and the social and economic recovery of the affected areas and sectors will be more effective, inclusive, and transparent.

The PDNA is a multi-sectoral and multidisciplinary structured methodology developed and adopted by the European Union, the World Bank, and the UN system, for determing physical damages, economic losses, social and economic impacts, and costs of meeting recovery needs after a disaster. The PDNA is a government-led process in collaboration with local and international development partners. This joint collaborative approach leads to the determination of actionable priority recovery needs within a sustainable recovery framework necessary for mobilizing financial and technical resources within the government and the international donors.

The PDNA considers effects as the immediate results due to the occurrence of natural hazards or catastrophic events. The quantifiable effects are the damage, valued as the cost of repair or replacement of damaged or destroyed physical assets, and losses which are the changes in economic flows across sectors. Other non-quantifiable effects include the reduction of access to social services and the disruption to governance across the areas affected. Impacts are the long-term possible consequences due to the effects which can adversely affect people’s welfare (social), as well as livelihoods, income, revenues, budget, exports, etc. (macroeconomic). Separate analyses are also required for special concerns like women, children, elderly, indigenous peoples, employment, environment, etc. The systematic methods of assessment of effects and impacts of the PDNA lead to the development of recovery strategies which are beyond physical reconstruction but toward a more comprehensive and resilient development practices where the principle of build-back-better is applied.

For more details of the concepts and methodologies for all the sectors, the reader is advised to look at the sector Guidance Notes and the Post-Disaster Needs Assessment Guidelines Volumes A and B published by the WB-GFDRR in 2014.