Article 31: Damage Inventory Form

(Category: disaster-determinations)

Article Summary

To identify and record disaster-related impacts, public assistance applicants must complete a comprehensive Damage Inventory. This inventory must be managed within the online FEMA Grants Portal software under the specific disaster event's "Event PA Request" page. While applicants may request technical support from their designated FEMA Program Delivery Manager (PDMG) to organize the entries, the applicant holds sole legal responsibility for identifying and uploading all damages within 60 days of the formal Recovery Scoping Meeting (RSM).

The inventory can be entered individually or batch-uploaded using a structured Microsoft Excel spreadsheet template. To ensure validation, the form enforces a mix of free-form descriptions and strict drop-down menu selections. Required template fields include the damage/facility name, exact physical address, GPS coordinates, damage description, primary cause, approximate cost, percentage of completion, and the applicant's internal recovery priority ranking. Furthermore, the template requires a drop-down designation for the "Labor Type" utilized or planned for the repairs: MAA (Mutual Aid Agreement), MOU (Memorandum of Understanding), FA (Force Account), C (Contract), FA/C (Combined Force Account and Contract), or DR (Donated Resources). Finally, applicants must explicitly note via a drop-down toggle whether the specific facility has ever received FEMA Public Assistance grants in any past historical disaster.

Five Key Takeaways for CTA FEMA Compliance

1. Log All Impacts Within the 60-Day Window: Enforce a strict internal project schedule to ensure every single disaster-damaged item is identified and uploaded to the Grants Portal within 60 days of your Recovery Scoping Meeting.
2. Utilize Standardized Labor Type Acronyms: Categorize all response and repair personnel costs strictly under the six authorized spreadsheet drop-down options (MAA, MOU, FA, C, FA/C, or DR).
3. Capture Precise GPS Location Markers: Mandate that field engineering teams capture exact Global Positioning System coordinates at the site of every damaged asset, as approximate locations will block project worksheet formulation.
4. Disclose Historical FEMA Grant Affiliations: Audit your agency's past disaster records and accurately toggle the drop-down indicating whether a facility has received federal public assistance funding in previous disaster declarations.
5. Verify Drop-Down Menu Selections Before Uploading: Ensure that all data fields—including Category of Work and Primary Cause of Damage—utilize the required template drop-down options rather than custom text to prevent upload errors in the database.

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