ADRC Annual Report No.5 (2002)

2. Establishment of Network in the Asian Region

2-4-3. Latest Disaster Information Database
To provide information in a more user-oriented way, ADRC website was upgraded in 2002
by adding new functions to the disaster information database.
ADRC developed a platform ofInternet-based GIS for disaster management- “VENTEN” three years ago. In response tothe increasing demand for geographical map
information of the disaster affected areas,
ADRC added a new function using this
“VENTEN” system which allows users tojump to the map information from theinformation page on the “Latest disasterinformation” website.
Two types of maps are available; a simple
map to find the rough location and a map
with GIS function, Internet-based GIS
system VENTEN. As shown in Fig. 2-4-3-1,
a map button is provided at the bottom of thelatest disaster information page. Clicking
the button will bring up a simple map inwhich the location of the selected disaster ismarked.

Map button

Fig. 2-4-3-1 Latest disaster info page

To GIS system VENTEN

Disaster areamarker＜Simple map＞

Fig. 2-4-3-2<Internet-based GIS system VENTEN>
Map of area in question is displayed.

New function and screen

５０ADRC Annual Report No.5 (2002)

2. Establishment of Network in the Asian Region

As shown in figure 2-4-3-2, users can jump to the Internet-based GIS system VENTEN by
simply clicking the button to view the map of the country or region stricken by a disaster. The
map is configured to show the topography, main rivers and national borders of each country inthe default setup. The default scale of the map is set to display the total area of each country
except China and Russia. China and Russia are split into 2 sections for display (Eastern andWestern sections) and 5 areas, respectively, due to the restriction of the VENTEN system.
To display these maps, two columns were added to enter the latitude and longitude to thelatest disaster information database. When a command requesting disaster information is sentfrom a user, a key code of the disaster information is retrieved, and the country code andlatitude and longitude are also retrieved based on the key code. Because the country code used
for the latest disaster information is not the same as the VENTEN’s coding, the country code ofthe latest disaster information is converted into the VENTEN’s code using a newly added
conversion table. Data from 35 Asian countries are available on VENTEN, and the map button
is displayed when VENTEN’s country code is allocated to the requested disaster information,
whereas no map button appears if no country code is allocated (see 2-4-3-3 Simple map display
button, flow chart).

Fig. 2-4-3-3 Simple map display button flow chart

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ADRC Annual Report No.5 (2002)

2. Establishment of Network in the Asian Region

Clicking the map button will send the country code and latitude and longitude data of therequested disaster information to the VENTEN system. Based on the country code received,
VENTEN checks if the country falls in the category of split-display country (China or Russia).
When the requested country is China or Russia, VENTEN determines the disaster location
based on the longitude and latitude data and defines the range of the map to be displayed. Whenthe requested country falls on the non-split display group, VENTEN proceeds to the next stepby skipping the aforementioned steps. For both split and non-split display group countries, themap is displayed in the window at a scale calculated for full display of the country (or split area).
Then, the disaster location is marked if longitude and latitude data are available, whereas nomark is displayed if such geographic data are not available (see Fig. 2-4-2-3 Simple map
display button flow chart)

Fig. 2-4-3-4

Simple map display process flow chart

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ADRC Annual Report No.5 (2002)

2. Establishment of Network in the Asian Region

Two buttons, “VENTEN” and “Window Close”, are provided on the simple map screen, andusers can open VENTEN using the following procedure. When the VENTEN display button ispressed, the country code converted to VENTEN’s coding specification is sent to the system.
The default display parameters are defined and the scale to display the map of the requested
country (or region) in the window is calculated, and then VENTEN is displayed (see Fig.
2-4-3-5 VENTEN display process flow chart).

Fig. 2-4-3-5

VENTEN display process flow chart

The main purpose of adding new functions in 2002 is not the upgrading of the VENTEN
system itself, thereby the function to mark the disaster location on the map is not provided toVENTEN. Instead, it was designed to open two windows, the simple map and VENTEN,
simultaneously to allow the users to view the disaster location. However, the function ofdisaster location marking will surely be included in future upgrades of VENTEN.

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