Residential and Non-Residential Building Damage and Loss Assessment in Georgia

Abstract

This paper responds to the necessity for the creation of a unified disaster damage and loss assessment method for residential and non-residential buildings in Georgia. The objective of this study is to elaborate on an improved standardized formula for damage assessment in the residential and non-residential sector. The formula provides additional clarity to the various worldwide methodologies and frameworks presently used in the damage assessment of buildings and structures. The paper itself provides four key findings: 1) that each assessment approach and the amount of damage and loss calculated for the residential sector are based on various subjective opinions (non-systematic/standardized damage assessment approaches), derived from the best knowledge from commissions created at the municipal level; 2) a review of global methodologies and frameworks revealed a clear gap in the provision of formulas for calculating economic losses in the residential and non-residential sector; 3) the need for a comprehensive explanation of the unit cost of construction in the UNISDR methodology was identified; and 4) the necessity to collect detailed and specific data for the damage and loss calculation, alongside a requirement for frequent renewals of the integrated database (associated with the need for additional resources) – without which it often leads many countries, including Georgia, to use ineffective methodologies (e.g., HAZUS). Therefore, the study offers a new and original approach for assessing damaged buildings and provides an alternative method to fill the gap in the damage assessment of particular types of buildings and structures. Moreover, the paper proposes a building damage assessment formula that does not require specific databases to be frequently updated or integrated within the GIS system.

Keywords: Disaster Assessment, Residential and Non-residential Sector, Disaster Resilience, Applied Approach, Damage and Loss, Georgia