Manage hazard incidents

This guide is for users — hazard officers and managers who record disaster events, identify affected registrants, and track damage impacts in OpenSPP.

What you will do

Record a hazard incident, define the geographic areas it affects, identify registrants in those areas, log their damage levels, verify impacts, and advance the incident through its lifecycle stages to closure.

Before you start

You need one of these roles:

Role	What you can do
Hazard Officer	Create incidents, add areas, and record impacts
Hazard Manager	Full access, including delete and category configuration

If you cannot see the Hazard and Emergency menu, contact your administrator.

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Step 1. Create an incident

1. Go to Hazard and Emergency > Incidents and click New.

2. Fill in the incident form:

Field	What to enter
Name	A descriptive title, e.g., "Typhoon Odette – December 2021"
Code	A short reference code for the incident
Category	Select the hazard type (e.g., Natural > Storm > Typhoon)
Start date	When the incident began
End date	Leave blank if the incident is still ongoing
Severity	Rate 1 (minor) to 5 (catastrophic)
Description	A summary of the event

3. Click Save. The incident is created in Alert status.

Note

The Category field uses a hierarchical structure. You can select a broad category (e.g., "Natural Disaster") or a specific sub-type (e.g., "Typhoon"). Use the most specific category that applies.

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Step 2. Add affected areas

Linking geographic areas to the incident lets OpenSPP identify which registrants live in the affected zone.

1. On the incident form, go to the Affected Areas tab.

2. Click Add a line and select an area from the list.

3. Optionally set a Severity override for that area if the local impact differs from the overall incident severity.

4. Add any area-specific Notes (e.g., "Coastal barangays only").

5. Repeat for each affected area.

6. Click Save.

Field	What to enter
Area	Geographic area from your configured area list
Severity override	Local severity (1–5), or leave blank to inherit incident severity
Affected population estimate	Estimated number of people in the area
Notes	Area-specific notes

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Step 3. Activate the incident

Once the incident is confirmed and active, advance it from Alert to Active status.

1. On the incident form, click Set Active.

2. The status changes to Active and the incident appears in active incident dashboards.

Tip

Keep the incident in Alert status while you are still gathering information. Move to Active once you have confirmed areas and are beginning impact assessments.

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Step 4. Identify affected registrants

OpenSPP can automatically find registrants whose recorded address falls within the incident's affected areas.

1. On the incident form, click the Affected Registrants smart button at the top.

2. The system displays a list of registrants linked to the affected geographic areas.

3. Review the list to confirm which registrants require impact assessment.

Note

This list is based on the geographic areas recorded in the registry. Registrants whose area is not recorded, or who live in a border area, may not appear. Field officers should also report impacts manually (see Step 5).

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Step 5. Record registrant impacts

For each registrant affected by the incident, create an impact record.

Option A: Record impacts one at a time

1. Open a registrant's record in the Registry.

2. Go to the Hazard Impacts tab.

3. Click Add a line and fill in the impact details:

Field	What to enter
Incident	Select the incident this impact relates to
Impact type	The type of harm (Physical, Economic, Health, Social)
Damage level	How severe the damage is (see damage levels below)
Impact date	When the impact was assessed
Notes	Observations from the field

4. Click Save.

Option B: Bulk create impacts for an area

For large-scale events, you can create impact records for all registrants in an affected area at once.

1. On the incident form, open the Affected Areas tab.

2. Select the area, then click Bulk Create Impacts.

3. Choose the impact type and default damage level.

4. Click Confirm. OpenSPP creates a Reported impact record for each registrant in that area.

Tip

Bulk creation uses Reported status, meaning the impacts still need field verification. Use bulk creation as a starting point, then update individual records as field data comes in.

Damage levels

Level	When to use
Minimal	Minor damage, household function not disrupted
Moderate	Significant damage, household partially affected
Severe	Serious damage, household severely disrupted
Critical	Household unable to function, urgent assistance needed
Partially damaged	Physical structure or assets partly destroyed
Totally damaged	Physical structure or assets fully destroyed

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Step 6. Verify impacts

Impact records begin in Reported status. A hazard officer or manager must verify or dispute each record based on field evidence.

1. Open an impact record (from the incident's Impacts tab or the registrant's Hazard Impacts tab).

2. Review the damage level and notes.

3. Click one of the following:

   • Verify — Confirms the impact record as accurate. Status changes to Verified.

   • Dispute — Flags the record as contested. Status changes to Disputed.

4. Verified records can later be Closed once no further action is needed.

Verification status	Meaning
Reported	Impact recorded but not yet reviewed
Verified	Confirmed accurate by an officer or manager
Disputed	Accuracy is contested, further review needed
Closed	Verified and no further action required

Note

Only Verified impacts count toward emergency program eligibility. Disputed records are excluded until re-verified.

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Step 7. Move to recovery and close

Once the acute phase of the incident has passed, advance the incident through its final stages.

Start recovery

1. On the incident form, click Start Recovery.

2. The status changes to Recovery. Ongoing response activities continue but the emergency phase is ending.

Close the incident

1. On the incident form, click Close.

2. If no end date was set, the system records today's date as the end date.

3. The status changes to Closed. The incident becomes read-only.

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Viewing impacts on a registrant record

To see all hazard impacts for an individual registrant:

1. Go to Registry > Individuals (or Groups) and open the registrant's record.

2. Click the Hazard Impacts smart button at the top, or go to the Hazard Impacts tab.

3. The list shows all incidents affecting this registrant, with their damage level and verification status.

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Initial setup (managers only)

Before officers can use the hazard module, a manager must configure the following. Skip this section if setup is already complete.

Hazard categories

1. Go to Hazard and Emergency > Configuration > Hazard Categories.

2. Click New and enter a category name and code.

3. To create a sub-category, set the Parent Category field.

4. Repeat to build out the hierarchy your organization uses.

Impact types

1. Go to Hazard and Emergency > Configuration > Impact Types.

2. Click New and fill in:

Field	What to enter
Name	Descriptive label (e.g., "Livestock loss")
Code	Short reference code
Category	Physical, Economic, Health, or Social
Description	What this impact type covers

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Are you stuck?

I cannot find a registrant in the affected list. The registrant's area field may not be filled in, or their area may not be linked to the incident. Add the area manually or record the impact directly on the registrant's profile.

The Bulk Create Impacts button is not visible. You may not have Hazard Officer or Manager access. Also check that at least one area is linked to the incident.

I verified an impact by mistake. Contact a Hazard Manager to correct the record. Managers can revert a verified impact to Reported status.

The incident cannot be closed. Check that all open impacts have been progressed beyond Reported status. Leaving impacts unreviewed may prevent closure depending on your organization's configuration.

I need to link this incident to a program for emergency assistance. Open the incident and go to the Response Programs tab. A program manager must first configure the program's Emergency Response settings before it will appear here.