2018-04-10 S&O Agenda - Attachment 1 to Item 4 - Local Disaster Recovery Subplan

Economic impact assessment attempts to quantify in dollars all impacts (both costs and benefits)
possible. Importantly, the assessment applies not only to goods and services that are
traditionally traded in the market place, but also to the value attributed to social and environmental
assets. Economic impact assessments are conducted to ensure long-term economic outcomes
can be visualised and planned for.

7.3.4    Economic impact versus financial impact

Economic impact assessment is distinct from financial impact assessment. Economic impact
assessment includes all impacts on a community while financial impact assessment often
concerns a single economic unit such as an industry, business or household. In the early stages
of recovery, the Economic Subgroup may well focus on the conduct of a series of financial impact
assessments across sectors, which will in turn collectively help inform the overall economic
impact assessment.

7.3.5    Tangible versus intangible impacts

As well as direct and indirect impacts, economic impacts are typically divided into tangible and
intangible impacts:
 Tangible impacts – the loss of things that have a monetary (replacement) value e.g.
    buildings, livestock, infrastructure
 Intangible impacts – the loss of things that cannot be bought and sole e.g. lives and injuries,
    environment, memorabilia, heritage

Tangible impacts are typically easier than intangible impacts to replace and assign a dollar value
to because they are traded in the market place. Intangible impacts are much harder to assess.
Intangible impacts are often described as a ‘catch all’ that includes all those costs that are very
difficult to estimate, for which there is no agreed method of estimation and for which there is no
market to provide a benchmark. However, they should be considered and included appropriately
in impact assessments.

7.3.6    Direct and indirect economic impacts on key community sectors

The table below lists some of the economic impacts on the community that will require
consideration in an assessment:

   Sector / area of
                                       Direct                                Indirect
       impact
 Residents and             structural (roofs, walls etc)         additional costs - alternative
 households                contents (furniture, floor             accommodation and transport,
                            coverings etc)                         heating, drying-out costs,
                           external (swimming pools,              medical costs etc
                            gardens etc)
                           death and injury
 Public infrastructure,   Damage to or loss of                    transport (traffic delays, extra
 community facilities                                              operating costs etc)
                             roads
 and natural                                                      loss of computer-controlled
 environment                 bridges
                                                                   systems
                             dams
                                                                  loss of other lifelines
                             sports grounds and facilities
                                                                   (electricity etc)
                             schools
                             halls
                             parks
                             waterways
                             bushland


Noosa Local Disaster Recovery Subplan 2018                                                    Page 62