The digital platform 'Damage Assessment and Loss Analysis' (DALA), which reports disaster damages and maintains statistics, has been launched.
The "DALA" platform is a national digital platform designed by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) with the assistance of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Maldives, to digitize the reporting of disaster damages, prepare disaster-related reports, and strengthen the evidence-based decision-making system. The platform was officially launched by the Minister of Homeland Security and Technology, Ali Ihusan, at a ceremony held at Hotel Jen yesterday.
With this platform, the previously manual disaster damage assessment work will be transformed into an easy, safe, and connected digital system. Through the portal, disaster information can be reported online to the relevant institutions. Additionally, the calculation of damages will be automatically prepared, and the accuracy and speed of damage assessment will increase.
The biggest convenience with this change will be for those seeking assistance due to disasters. They can easily submit requests for assistance through the portal. Information regarding the progress of assistance and changes to submitted information will be provided to them via SMS. As a result, disaster response and recovery efforts will become faster and more robust than before.
Furthermore, one of the key features of the DALA portal is the ability to collect information separately based on disaster types, reported damaged areas, regions, population categories, and property types. This will enable a deeper understanding of the impacts of disasters, facilitate targeted actions in areas requiring assistance, increase planning, and promote equitable recovery efforts.
The launch of the DALA portal is an important step taken to strengthen disaster risk management at the national level and to build a fast and resilient Maldives.
This work is in line with NDMA's Strategic Action Plan, the national digitalization goals of Digital Maldives 2.0 announced by President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, and is an important effort that supports international commitments made under the 'Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction' and the 'Early Warnings for All' initiative. The design of the DALA portal was carried out through the UNDP Funding Window with the generous assistance of the governments of Denmark, Luxembourg, and South Korea.
