Chapter 5 › I. Impact List

What goes on the impact list, and how detailed does it need to be?

FEMA term

Impact list (damage inventory)

Short answer

Every damaged facility, every site with debris, and every major emergency protective measure taken to protect the public, listed by location with a rough cost. You also say whether you will claim management costs (Category Z) or building code and floodplain work (Category I). It does not need detailed damage descriptions or final costs, and FEMA does not use it to decide how much you receive.

What FEMA requires

List each damaged facility, each site with debris impacts, and each overarching emergency protective measure taken to address immediate threats to the public.
Identify whether you are claiming management costs, or building code and floodplain management administration and enforcement work.
List each item by location with a rough estimate of cost.
Detailed descriptions, damaged components within a facility and final cost estimates are not required at this stage.
FEMA does not use the impact list to determine the amount of assistance.

<table class="pt-table"><thead><tr><th>Required for every site or activity</th><th>Example</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Facility name or unique identifier</td><td>Campus or site name</td></tr><tr><td>Facility type</td><td>Building, road or system</td></tr><tr><td>Specific location (required)</td><td>Address or GPS coordinates</td></tr><tr><td>General description</td><td>Damage, protective measures, or approximate type and quantity of debris</td></tr><tr><td>Approximate cost</td><td>Rough estimate</td></tr><tr><td>Status of work</td><td>Not started, in progress or complete</td></tr><tr><td>Date of original construction</td><td>Year the facility was built</td></tr><tr><td>Project priority level</td><td>Your priority for the site</td></tr></tbody></table>

Documentation

Your damage inventory with the eight required items for each site, plus photos and notes you gathered while identifying damage. FEMA does not use the rough costs to set your funding, so a reasonable estimate is enough at this stage.

Watch out · Govstar practitioner advice

Anything left off the impact list is very hard to add later. List every site you suspect, including ancillary items like fences, signs and parking lots, and withdraw the ones that turn out ineligible rather than missing one.

Govstar summarizes FEMA’s Public Assistance Program and Policy Guide in plain language and links to the official text. Govstar is independent and not affiliated with FEMA. This is general guidance, not legal advice.