As of now, the Department of Disaster Management (DDM) does not have a proper Needs Assessment System. The Needs Assessment System is a process of finding out the immediate needs of the people after a disaster strikes.
The department is planning to come up with a proper Needs Assessment System after giving training to all the relevant dzongkhag officials.
The DDM official, Pema Thinley, said the needs assessment is a crucial part of disaster assessment “We have to take peoples need into consideration and thinking that we have made electronic version questionnaires called Bhutan disaster tools and mechanism. Even in absence of computers we can take a hard copy and we go to disaster sites and may be talk with the local leaders.”
Since the DDM does not have focal person in all the 20 dzongkhags, the dzongkhag officials will be doing the assessment.
The needs assessment training has been conducted in almost all the dzongkhag. The last workshop is underway in Bumthang and relevant dzongkhag officials from the five dzongkhags are taking part in the training. The participants were given the electronic questionnaires software by the DDM officials.
The six days training will end on September 13.
