3. Accumulation and Provision of Information on
Natural Disasters and Disaster Reduction
3-1. Policy and Methods
3-1-1. Policies on Accumulation
Based on the resolutions of 23 countries in the Asian region, ADRC has been collecting andorganizing information on the situation of natural disasters in each country, as well as
information, knowledge of and experiences with the systems, plans, and specific measures ofeach country for disaster reduction. This is to facilitate the sharing of information between
countries. The development of such fundamental information infrastructures has been carriedout with the aim of promoting the establishment of national disaster reduction systems in eachcountry, and multinational cooperation for disaster reduction in Asia.
In addition, we collected information from the disaster reduction officers of various
countries and other related organizations, and constructed a database of the latest information
on recent natural disasters and human resource information on specialists of disaster reduction,with the intention of disseminating the information. It has also become possible to acquire moredetailed and definite information through collaboration with foreign visiting researchers andthe Asian Unit of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs(OCHA), which is reflected in disseminated information. Furthermore, the OCHA ReliefWeb
Office in Kobe has opened in ADRC this fiscal year and has facilitated sharing information
more quickly and clearly.
We plan to continue collecting detailed information on the following, and release theinformation through the Internet and other media:①Disaster reduction systems (judicial systems, organizations, basic plans, andmanuals on managing disasters, etc.)② Actual cases of disaster countermeasures (measures taken during majordisasters in the past, etc.)③ Information on natural disasters (descriptions and damage incurred byearthquakes, floods, cyclones, and other natural disasters)④ Human resource information (disaster reduction administrators, experts,
international organizations, private companies, NGO members, etc.)

3-1-2. Collecting Information from Member Countries, Etc.
In fiscal 2001, as in the previous year, ADRC collected disaster reduction related
information on various counties through the following methods:

１）Questing information from member countries
While gaining the understanding of each member country on the purposes of establishing the
ADRC and the need for multinational disaster reduction cooperation, we have been asking
member countries to provide natural disaster information, as well as information on actual
disaster cases and disaster reduction systems, and have been receiving such information fromthese countries.
２）Survey of member countries
We toured two member countries (Kazakhstan and Myanmar) during this fiscal year to verify
the persons in charge of disaster reduction in this counterpart country, explain the purpose of
ADRC’s activities, obtain basic information on disaster reduction, and ask for the continued
support of member countries.
As a result, Kazakhstan pledged its support in providing information to ADRC and, at the sametime, requested active exchanges of information on disaster reduction be made through guest
researchers from Kazakhstan to ADRC in the future. As for Myanmar, we met with thecountry's disaster reduction officer directly for the first time since ADRC opened and were able

１

ADRC Annual Report No.4 (2001)

to exchange information concerning Myanmar's natural disasters, their national system andmeasures for disaster reduction, etc.

３）ADRC International Meeting
At the Fourth ADRC International Meeting (January 22 and 23, 2002), member countries,
and advisor countries, and countries and organizations participating as observers provided
reports and other materials that include natural disaster information, actual case studies for
dealing with disasters, and disaster reduction systems. They also voiced their requests
concerning the activities of ADRC. As this meeting was followed by the Asian Meeting on the
ISDR which was held in the same venue, it was highlighted by the participation ofrepresentatives from United Nations organizations involved in disaster reduction such as theUnited Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs(Kobe Office, India Office),
UN-HABITAT Serving Asia and the Pacific, Food And Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations (FAO), the India Office of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), theUnited Nations Secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR), and the
Asian Development Bank (ADB). The meeting proved to be a significant opportunity tostrengthen potential multinational disaster reduction cooperation in the Asian region in the
future.
４）Use of WWW (World Wide Web)

(1)Disaster reduction information in each country
Following the last fiscal year, ADRC has been using the Web to collect information on thedisaster reduction systems of various countries, as well as related information fromadministrators in charge at international organizations and countries. In particular, India has
been sending e-mails and disaster management information via the Web since the Gujarat
earthquake, which the ADRC places, on its homepage as needed.
In the future, it will be important to track the trends of disaster reduction information supply
in various countries, as well as support the active construction of information supply systems
from various countries through technical support for the construction of mirror sites anddisaster information databases.

(2)Disaster reduction information of academic research institutions andinternational organizations
In addition to these efforts, international organizations and research centers are actively
collecting and providing disaster reduction information from various perspectives. Through the
spread of Internet services, there has been a gradual establishment of systems able to share thisinformation over the Internet.
Among the many organizations and research centers, the Center for Research on the
Epidemiology of Disaster (CRED), Louvain Catholic University, Belgium, has a disasterdatabase (EM-DAT) carrying statistical data on natural disasters in the world, which isavailable on the Internet.
While the EM-DAT serves as a database on statistic figures, OCHA provides information on
natural disasters and reliable information on disaster measures and management in an effort tosupport humanitarian activities during disasters at its Relief Web site on the Internet.
ADRC, in order to further promote sharing of such information on disaster mitigation,
proposed the use of common disaster ID's and started more specific activities concerning the
GLIDE (GLobal IDEntifier) number project this year with consensus of other disaster
reduction-related organizations such as the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA)
and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Use of a GLIDE
number on an incident or disaster will allow easy collection and use of information dispatchedby various disaster reduction-related organizations concerning the same disaster occurrence.

3-1-3. Other Efforts["ReliefWeb Project" Kobe Office Opens for the United Nations Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs]
The Kobe Office of the "ReliefWeb Project" of the United Nations Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) was established in ADRC on August 16, 2001.
ReliefWeb (www.reliefweb.int) is a project of the UN whose beginning of activity dates back to
1996 and now posts their activities on its website at the earliest possible time. The latest
information on international efforts of humanitarian assistance toward damage and losses
caused by natural disasters and conflicts with which OCHA is involved, including situations
and conditions is updated on the website. The information including what is needed, who isproviding what kind of aid and at what places, ... etc. is collected from more than 600 partners.
Having their Kobe office located physically close to the ADRC office, members from the two
offices can meet more often for the exchange of ideas on how information can be bettercollected and provided. We hope to make more specific proposals on our cooperation in the
future.

Fig.3‑1‑3 OCHA ReliefWeb Internet Site: http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf

３

ADRC Annual Report No.4 (2001)

3-2. Information on Disaster Reduction Systems
3-2-1. Scope of Information
Elements composing the disaster reduction systems of different countries include: judicial
systems for laying down the basis for implementing measures to deal with disasters,organizations which actually implement these measures, and basic plans for continually
establishing disaster reduction systems. Other elements include disaster reduction actions foreach disaster, and disaster manuals, which describe disaster measures.

１）Judicial systems
Not all countries have fundamental laws like Japan’s “The Disaster Countermeasures BasicAct.” Some countries prescribe disaster reduction systems in accordance with government
decrees and rules of specified organizations. Taking into consideration the respective situationof each country, it is not easy to determine which is a better method. However, the sharing of
national information concerning laws and regulations is considered a useful reference tocountries that are attempting to establish legal systems or improve their current systems.
２）Organization
Usually different disaster measures are taken according to the situation of the countries. Like
judicial systems, the sharing of information should prove useful when devising measures todeal with similar disasters.
３）Basic plans
Only a few member countries, including Japan, have disaster reduction plans. Again, theinformation shared on disaster reduction plans should serve as a reference for countries
intending to draw up such plans in the future, and is therefore highly likely to contribute to the
reduction of damage caused by natural disasters.
４）Disaster manuals
Most disaster manuals are compiled by countries and regions based on the natural disasters
that the region or country has experienced, or by the type of natural disaster specific to thatcountry or region. Since regions and countries deal with natural disasters independently, theyoften do not share their experiences and measures even for common natural disasters. This has
resulted in a lack of proper or sufficient disaster countermeasures in some countries and regions.
ADRC has thus been making efforts since the previous fiscal year to collect information to
enable the sharing of these existing disaster measures and disaster manuals. Further efforts are
required. ADRC will continue promoting the inter-regional and international sharing ofexperience, knowledge, and views on measures for specific disasters that have been formed andaccumulated in different countries and regions.

3-2-2. Level of Information Source
The information needs to be collected not only on the national governmental level, but also atlevels of local, regional, and even municipal governments if the information is useful. As a rule,
when a disaster hits, it is the local government (regional, municipal), which implements thedisaster measures. If the scale of the disaster exceeds the capability of the local level, the central
government or international community will intervene to provide support in disastermanagement and relief. This means that the establishment of regulations, organizations, andsystems by the central government do not always improve the disaster reduction and disastermeasure abilities at the local or grass-root level. Therefore, it is essential to share useful
information at all levels.

3-2-3. Information Accumulation Methods
As indicated in 3-1-2, since the last fiscal year, ADRC has been accumulating information on
the disaster reduction systems of different countries by requesting information from member
countries, implementing field surveys, holding international conferences, and by its own uniquemethods using the Internet.

3-2-4. Future Tasks
Concerning future tasks, the ADRC plans to further reinforce and expand its database,analyze information collected, and based on the data acquired, pinpoint the needs of different
countries to promote multi-national disaster reduction cooperation.

１）Reinforcement and expansion of the disaster reduction database
In order to share the information between countries concerning disaster reduction systems
accumulated at ADRC, the ADRC constructed a database on its homepage to enable free
retrieval and access of information on disaster reduction systems. It enabled many countries
and regions to establish and improve their own national or regional disaster reduction systems
while referring to actual examples from other countries. The ADRC will continue its efforts in
updating and enhancing the contents of the database with the cooperation of member countries
to realize a more user-friendly disaster reduction database system.
２）Analysis of information and dealing with the needs of countries
Analysis of information collected helps clarify the specific situations and needs of various
countries. It is apparent that countries like Japan, Russia, and Singapore already have national
level disaster reduction systems, while others such as Nepal, Laos, and Papua New Guinea are
currently preparing to establish disaster reduction systems. We believe that the former countries
need to implement various improvements to enhance and reinforce their existing systems, andthat priority should be given to help the latter group of nations to complete disaster systemdevelopment, which is the common challenge of intra-region collaboration.
In order to reduce Asia’s vulnerability to natural disasters, it is essential for countries toconsider disaster reduction measures in their basic national long-term plans. To realize this, it isfirst necessary to heighten the disaster reduction awareness of the government as well as among
the people. The sharing of information on disaster reduction between countries, including its
systems, should be achieved at an early stage; while lawmakers, policy makers, and planners
should appropriately prioritize and continue to always include the disaster reduction issue in thebasic plans of their country and region.
３）Promotion of cooperation
As agreed at both the 4th International Meetings, it is vital that disaster reduction
administrators and specialists of member countries exchange the latest information on disaster
reduction systems and measures by continuing to hold regular meetings. It is equally importantthat researchers from member countries working at ADRC help to promote active personnel
and information exchanges in the Asian region taking advantage of the guest researcher
program, which started in July 1999. In addition, to reduce the damage from natural disasters inAsia, while serving as a mediator, the ADRC is required to form a network of disaster reduction
staff, technologies, and physical resources between Japan and the other countries of Asia, inorder to stimulate exchanges.

５3-2-5. Understanding needs for promoting information
technology for management of disaster reduction-asurvey with questionnaire
In order to grasp the needs for the promotion of information technology for disastermitigation in each member country, a survey with a questionnaire was conducted among thecounterpart organizations of the member countries. The result illustrated needs in each country.
The questionnaire forms were sent out, together with an invitation for the Fourth ADRC
International Meeting, to the counterpart organization of each member country requesting a
response. The questions were asked in relation to current situations and problems in eachorganization in terms of promotion of information technology for the management of disaster
reduction efforts. It also asked what they expect ADRC to do to help the promotion activities.
The respondents were provided with multiple choices to answer the questions. (multiple
selections allowed).
In total, 14 countries returned their responses out of the twenty member nations and two
observer countries that attended the International Conference. The responses are shown in
Table 3-1-3-2.
The result of the survey indicates that almost all organizations have some kind of databasefor the purpose of managing disaster reduction. Especially, records of past disasters are kept in
the databases by more than half the organizations. However, financial problems as well as thelack of technology and information have kept roughly 60% of the respondents from making theinformation available to the public. While ADRC promotes information sharing by use ofworldwide common ID numbers (GLIDE) given to disaster data, we consider it necessary tosort out such information that is currently held by each country to prepare for shared access.
Use of remote sensing data and geographical information systems (GIS's) for management ofdisaster mitigation has been attracting interest from many organizations and already more thanhalf of them started using such methods, however, it is clear that there still are many difficulties
in making effective use of them. While the organizations wish to promote the use of suchtechnology, the high costs involved in obtaining necessary data and equipment/softwarepresents a large obstacle in terms of finance. Additionally, there are still unknown factors
concerning how effective the use of such information technology can be to provide good resultsin disaster reduction, emergency assistance, and disaster measures, thus it seems that the use of
information technology at the present time is given a low priority in relation to the small returnon the investment.
Among Asian countries, many have not sufficiently developed their access environment to
the network and voiced requests with ADRC for support in preparing the necessary
infrastructure. So far, as a means to resolve problems in the use of data caused by insufficient
hardware and software, the ADRC has promoted a provision of "VENTEN", an Internet-based
GIS service. However, we think it is necessary to consider the preparation of an infrastructure
to use such Internet services from now on. Furthermore, active provisions for training occasions
to enable effective use of disaster reduction technology will be required in the future.

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ADRC Annual Report No.4 (2001)

Table 3‑1‑3‑2 Result of Survey
Q1. Concerning the Disaster Information Database(1) Do you have a database of information concerning disaster
reduction?
(2) What kind of information is kept in the database (select all thatapplies)?
Disaster Management Information (Organization, Laws,
Plans, Measures).
Past Disaster Data.
Personnel Information.
Training Information.
Hazard Map.
Others.
(3) Is the database open to the public?
(4) If the database is not open to the public, why?
Lack of technical knowledge and/or expertise.
Lack of finance.
(5) Are you receiving any assistance from other organization(s) toallow public access to the database?
Q2. Remote Sensing Data
(1) Do you use remote sensing data from satellites and aircraft fordisaster management and/or database?
(2) If you answered "yes" to (1) above, what applications do you
use it for?
24-hour monitoring.
Understanding the situation when an emergency occurs.
Planning disaster management.
Creating a hazard map.
(3) If you answered "no" to (1) above, why do you not use it?
It has lower priority than other technology.
There is technical problem(s).
(4) What are the problems in using remote sensing data (select allthat applies)?
Not enough information available.
Lack of technical personnel.
Lack of technical knowledge and/or expertise.
High cost of obtaining data.
High cost of software to use data.
High cost of hardware to use data.
(5) Would you use remote-sensing data more if the problems
above were resolved?
Q3. Use of Geographical Information System (GIS)(1) Do you use GIS for managing disaster information?
(2) If you answered "yes" to (1) above, what applications do you
use it for?
Understanding the situation when an emergency occurs.
Planning disaster management.
Creating a hazard map.
Recording past disasters.
(3) If you answered "no" to (1) above, why do you not use GIS?
There is not enough need for it.
There is technical problem(s).
(4) What are the problems in using GIS (select all that applies)?

Yes

93%

No

7%

No

53%

54%

Yes

62%
31%
31%
54%
8%
43%
13%
25%

Yes

29%

No

71%

Yes

62%

No

38%

50%
88%
50%
50%
17%
50%

22%
22%
67%
67%
78%
67%
Yes

71%

No

29%

Yes

64%

No

36%

56%
33%
78%
78%
40%
60%

Not enough information available.
Lack of technical personnel.
Lack of technical knowledge and/or expertise.
Digital geographical data not available.
High cost of building database.
High cost of software to use data.
High cost of hardware to use data.
(5) Would you use remote-sensing data more if the problems
above were resolved?
Q4. Concerning VENTEN System(1) Have you used "VENTEN"; a GIS developed by ADRC?
(2) If you have not used it, why (select all that applies)?
Did not know it was available.
Network environment not ready for use of the Internet(insufficient infrastructure)
Insufficient number of computers.
Method of use too difficult.
(3) Do you wish to use VENTEN if it was available as astand-alone system (such as on CD-ROM)?
(4) We need more data to improve service provided by VENTEN.
Can you cooperate with us in this regard?

44%
67%
44%
56%
67%
56%
44%
Yes

64%

No

36%

Yes

7%

No

93%

46%
38%
15%
15%
Yes

64%

No

36%

Yes

64%

No

36%

Q5. What do you expect ADRC to provide for more effective use of information technology in the future(select all that applies)?
Occasions of training.
79%
Provision of user-friendly system.
64%
Data provision (remote sensing data, GIS data).
71%
Support for infrastructure preparation for IT promotion.
64%
Support for hardware and software preparation.
64%
Development of monitoring system.
57%

３

3-3. Construction of Natural Disaster Database Linked
to GDIN
It is extremely important to know what kind of counter measures have been taken against
what scale of disaster, what effects/review points/lessons have been obtained regarding
catastrophic disasters that had occurred in the past in order to devise various disaster reduction
counter measures in the future. The consolidation of such information on disasters, which
occurred in Asia this century in a database, will serve as an invaluable asset in the next century.
At present, the statistical data regarding natural disasters that occurred in this century are
accumulated in the Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters, Louvain Catholic
University (CRED) in Belgium. Disaster related information is transmitted on the Internet fromvarious organizations beginning with the circumstantial report on the main disasters since 1980
from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA).
The Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC) confirmed the necessity for constructing
while cooperating, a comprehensive database on natural disasters that had occurred in the 20th
Century by effectively utilizing these existing databases at the ADRC International Meeting(Member Country Meeting) held in December 1999. Furthermore, in order to positively
promote such global activities, the ADRC participated in the GDIN and proposed world-wide
use of common disaster ID's at the Canberra Assembly in March 2001 and then started actual
operations in fiscal year 2001.

3-3-1. Current Situation of Sharing Disaster Reduction
Information
At present, the majority of organizations are conducting data collection and studies solely
related to themes assigned to them and transmitting the results on the Internet and by othermeans. Additionally, partial sharing is being planned through linking of related organizations
on the Internet.
Amongst these, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs(OCHA) is already promoting and tackling the sharing of reliable disaster reduction data andhave set up the ReliefWeb to issue various global data related to disasters onto the Internet.
Detailed Situation Reports particularly those regarding major disasters after 1980, are stored sothat outlines and countermeasures can be documented and tracked.
The ReliefWeb Kobe Office was opened in August 2001 to setup and begin anaround-the-clock information dissemination system with bases in three cities: New York,
Geneva, and Kobe.
In addition, the Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters, Louvain Catholic
University (CRED) in Brussels, Belgium, is collecting statistical data on natural disasters andhuman disasters centered on disasters totaling over 10 deaths that had occurred worldwide after
1900 and transmitting the information on the Internet.
Others in universities and research organizations worldwide own respective disaster
information for each area or target fields and some parts of this information are available on theInternet.
However, since it is difficult to specify the dates for occurrence such as flood damage ordroughts from past disasters, since information sources record different times and dates.
Regarding the classification and names of disasters, since consolidated terms are not being used,in many cases it is often difficult to link the data transmitted from separate data organizations as
being the same disaster, particularly those that are very old.
Regarding the disasters in Japan, the “Science Chart” and “Weather Almanac” cover pastdisasters in detail completely. There is also “Disaster White Paper” on the Internet where a listof major disasters can be downloaded but a database listing all disasters has not been publicized.
Furthermore, when comparing these with the data from CRED, many cases have unclear
corresponding relationships and discrepancies exist in the figures.

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ADRC Annual Report No.4 (2001)

3-3-2. Databook of Natural Disasters in Asia in the 20th Century
ADRC signed an agreement on the memoranda with CRED and conducted verifications of
CRED’s EM-DAT. However, in most countries the information on disasters of the past 100
years seldom remain available and the truth is this verification process is extremely difficult.
In member countries, it is often the case when the data presently reported in EM-DAT is the
only data on the history of natural disasters in each country. Since there is no background of thisvaluable data having been generally published and distributed in Asian nations, we publishedthe “Asian Natural Disaster Data Book for the 20th Century” in July 2000 after adding
individual tables, various calculations and analysis to the data collected in the EM-DAT on
member nations, thinking that the verification process would be advanced by offering for themto the use of many persons needed as well as drawing the attention of many people. A revised
version is planned for release in the fiscal year 2002.

3-3-3. Proposal by ADRC <Unique ID Project (GLIDE)>
1)Disaster information sharing by use of GLIDE (GLobal IDEntifier) Number

Many disaster reduction-related organizations design and operate disaster databases, which
are made available to the public. When a new disaster strikes, not only the organizations andmass media in the country stricken, but other countries also send out quite a few pieces of
information over the Internet. ADRC is one such organization and, when a disaster occurs, it
searches through Internet sites managed by research organizations and mass media from aroundthe world and sends e-mail messages to contact persons in the disaster-stricken country togather information concerning the disaster. Results are presented in the latest disaster
information pages.
Some of the problems we have faced in our current operations are:
(1) Every time a disaster strikes, all related organizations need to be searched.
(2) Names that identify the same disaster are sometimes different among the organizations
and using search engines such as Google and Yahoo may not produce hits.
(3) If structures of databases and/or web sites of the organizations are modified, Internet
links to such databases or web sites may be lost.
If global identifier (GLIDE) numbers are used searches for disaster data in natural disasterdatabases of the past and recent occurrences will be substantially easier.
At the conference for the Global Disaster Information Network (GDIN) held in Canberra,
Australia in March, 2001, a proposition by ADRC that all disasters that occur in the world
should be identified with code numbers for management was adopted as a pilot project.
This project centered on OCHA ReliefWeb and CRED (the Center for Research on the
Epidemiology of Disaster at Louvain Catholic University, Belgium). They were joined by
ADRC and FAO, WorldBank, USAID/OFDA, NOAA, IFRC, UNDP, and ISDR Secretariat,
covering reviews on structures of GLIDE and the measures to popularize and promote it.
The structure of GLIDE is determined as follows:
AA-BBBB-CCCC-DDD
AA: Disaster Type
Drought
Earthquake
Epidemic
Extreme Temperature
Insect Infestation
Flood
Slide
Volcano

DR
EQ
EP
ET
IN
FL
SL
VL

Wave / Surge
Wild Fire
Wild Storm
Complex Emergency
Technological

WV
WF
ST
CE
AC

BBBB: Year of Occurrence (four digits of BC/AD calendar）
CCCC: Sequential Number by the Year
DDD: Country Code Number (ISO Code) (Ex. JPN for Japan）
Temporary operation of GLIDE started in January 2002 according to the following
procedures to generate and report a guide number:
1. Upon occurrence of a disaster, ReliefWeb generates a new GLIDE number and reports it to
CRED by e-mail.
2. For disasters not covered by the above step 1, CRED generates a GLIDE number within
one week.
3. CRED reports to ADRC and other related organizations by e-mail with a list of GLIDE
numbers for each week including both cases of steps 1 and 2.
4. ADRC reports GLIDE numbers to each organization through the use of a disseminationroute of Highlights.
The three steps to add common code numbers to a database are as follows:(1) Add a column for GLIDE in the database.
(2) Download past disaster data (http://www.cred.be/emdat/disdat1.htm).
(3) Input numbers assigned to each disaster by CRED in the column created by step 1 above.
Next, enable acquisition of data using GLIDE as a key.
(4) Create a program to search through the database and display data using GLIDE as a key.
For an organization that has a database open to the public, minor modifications to theexisting program would be necessary to effect this feature.
Additionally, provide a feature that allows a visitor searching the database to refer to related
information on other sites.
(5) Create button links embedded with URL's to other organizations and GLIDE numbers.
Above steps provide the database with shared information from other databases in the world
through the use of GLIDE.
In order to further promote GLIDE, ADRC will open and operate GLIDENUMBER.net
which will have features like a description for GLIDE, searches for the latest disaster
information, registration for the GLIDE mailing list, registration for participation with
GLIDE, and a function for generating a new GLIDE number. When this web site becomes
available, we hope that the use of GLIDE by member countries and disaster
reduction-related organizations increases. The following merits could be considered byadopting this ID code:• Disaster data owned by many organizations could be related easily at retrieval per item.
• By developing retrieval engines focusing on necessary items for the organization, thenecessary data could be automatically retrieved / indicated on the same page without
retrieving each item per organization. (Observe the problems in the next item)• Thus, the inspection of the duplicate data will become possible by using this code for direct
retrieval even when the database design had changed for each organization and changes inretrieval methods by the retrieving side could be conducted easily.

2)Problems on adoption

However we believe that it is necessary to clear the following problems for such asystem to function effectively:• Presently, the lack of data, particularly those in the older eras are prevalent in the CRED
database, necessary addition/exclusion amendments are to be taken by rechecking the databrought together with each related organization.
•

３

ADRC Annual Report No.4 (2001)• The participating organizations of GDIN will need to attach this ID code on their respective
databases.
• When the insides of the database cannot be retrieved directly due to the server structure ofeach organization or security reasons, a new database with the ID code attached to themetadata (stored information location) of each organization would become necessary.

3)Further use of GLIDE

It is desirable to create an environment to facilitate retrieval by devising integrationof other items to promote further data sharing in the future.
Effective extraction and comparative studies will become possible if each organization
matches whatever data that can be standardized as much as possible, such as classified
names for countries and disasters, statistical data items, contents, names of relatedorganizations or order of data.
Regarding this standardization of disaster reduction data, a separate “Standardization WorkGroup” exists in the GDIN Work Group and the integration of items will begin initially to continue
onto the tackling of further standardization in this Working Group.

3-4. Exhibition of Disaster Reduction Technologies
3-4-1. Need for a Disaster Reduction Database
When one wishes to purchase equipment for disaster mitigation or know what is available, there isno easy way to obtain such information. Disaster reduction technologies are broad ranging. There are
numerous technologies and equipment available, and these include jacks for rescuing lives fromdamaged buildings, fixtures to prevent furniture from tumbling, temporary toilets at shelters, water
purification devices for drinking water, machinery and equipment such as earthquake-absorbing
devices at buildings, satellite communication systems and disaster reduction GIS for damage control,
damage estimation system, forecast technologies, etc.
On the other hand, these technologies and equipment are not easy to develop because of theirrestricted purposes. If products are developed, however, they are not advertised very much due to thesmall size of the market. Still they are useful for enhancing the disaster reduction ability of the wholesociety. For this reason, it is important to broaden the market by letting as many people as possible
from local public corporations, private companies, NGO’s, and general households, etc. know about
these technologies and equipment.
In order to promote these technologies and equipment, exhibitions on disaster reduction
technologies and equipment have been held many times in Tokyo and Kobe since the Great
Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake.
While there were many visitors to the exhibitions as seen below, the effects of such exhibitions arelimited only to those who actually visited, and not many disaster reduction related people in remoteareas get the chance to know about such events.
With such situation in the background, ADRC opened the exhibition of disaster reduction
technologies on the web so that people can access its database any time as necessary.
Table 3‑4‑1 Outline of Disaster Related Exhibitions
Place

Tokyo

ExhibitionTime

No. of Visitors

No. of Exhibiting
Companies

No. of Booths

Tokyo International Fire
Prevention and Disaster
Reduction Exhibition

Jun. 4-9, 1998

214,064

260

1,380

Disaster Relief Fair 2000

Apr. 20-23, 2000

51,66870

900Jan. 16-17, 1997

4,264

130

230

Jan. 13-14, 1998
Jan. 13-14, 1999
Jan. 27-28, 2000
Jan. 18-19, 2001
Feb. 14-15, 2002

3,220
3,830
3,479
3,541
1,550

115
120
59
50
25

215
135
81
72
25

st

Kobe

1 Earthquake Disaster
Management Technologies
Exhibition 1997
2nd Exhibition 1998
3rd Exhibition 1999
4th Exhibition 2000
5th Exhibition 2001
6th Exhibition 2002

１

ADRC Annual Report No.4 (2001)

3-4-2. Disaster Reduction Technology Internet Virtual
Exhibition
Since January 17, 2001, the ADRC has been holding a virtual exhibition of disaster reduction
technologies available anytime on the Internet. Starting this year, each page of technology andequipment introduced is completely translated to English to facilitate access and use by member
countries and other disaster mitigation-related organizations.
The entrance of the exhibition hall is located on the ADRC website. Visitors can select areas ofinterest from the menu and read about corresponding technologies and equipment. If more detailed
information is required, they can refer to the homepages of organizations offering the disaster
reduction technologies or equipment, and contact them by e-mail, phone, or fax.
The ADRC holds such virtual exhibitions in the aim to introduce disaster reduction technologies andequipment in the same way as actual exhibitions and spread and support these technologies andequipment. However many of the organizations and companies developing the disaster reduction
technologies and equipment do not necessary have their own homepages. Even if they do, most are
only in Japanese. By providing the human resources of the ADRC and facilitating information services
with the use of a standard homepage design and handling of the English translation of introductory text
at the ADRC, 203 items from 60 companies are currently exhibiting at the virtual exhibition as of theend of March 2002.
We hope to extend our coverage to disaster reduction equipment and technologies that are developedby Asian nations through researches to include them in our virtual exhibitions in the future.

3-4-3. Classifications of Disaster Reduction Technologies
Disaster stage, technology, and equipment as shown below classified the thesaurus of the database.
Table 3‑4‑2 Structure of Database
Stage
Mitigation

Preparedness

Response
RecoveryA. Technology
a. Earthquake-resistance technology,
quake-absorbing technology
b. Earthquake-resistance evaluation
a. Disaster reduction plans, damage
estimation and forecast
b. Training support
a. Monitoring of disaster stateb. Communication network
a. Recovery support system

B. Equipmenta. Fixturesb. Emergency shut off systems
a. Various stocks

a. Rescue and relief
b. Fire extinguishinga. Remote control robot
b. Life support

In order to realize a substantial database, the cooperation of organizations and companies withdisaster reduction technologies is indispensable, and it is important to continue appealing for extensive
participation in the future.

Fig. 3‑4‑1 Examples of Exhibits of Disaster Reduction Technologies and Equipmenton the Internet

３

ADRC Annual Report No.4 (2001)

Fig. 3‑4‑2 Internet Virtual Exhibition Hall Network

ADRC Disaster Technique Products Exhibition on the Internet Website

A D R C

Homepages【Preparedness】
LINK
Company or ...

LINK

Homepages【Mitigation】

Homepages【Responce】
ENTRANCE

Company or...

ACCESS

LINK
Homepages【Recovery】
LINK

USER
Company or ...

TEL FAXE‑mailCompany orOrganizationetc.

3-5. Internet GIS
3-5-1. Objectives of Internet GIS for Disaster Reduction
Management
The objective of Geographical Information System (GIS) is to make full use (data input,
analyzing, storing, and output) of spatial data beyond the limits of ordinary paper maps. The
spatial data, in this case, means not only surface data such as elevation or land use but also data
for managing locations, shapes, and attributes of administrative borders, buildings, roads,
railways, rivers, etc. Use of GIS utilities such as visualization by arbitrary overlay of spatial
data, extraction of areas of influence, and selection of the shortest path facilitates for users tomake decision and to assess the influence of environment and disasters. Implementation of a
GIS normally requires introduction of software and hardware, however an advantage of GIS
constructed on the Internet is that a system that allows analyzing, displaying, and acquiring data
through the Internet can be developed without having to install any special GIS software on theuser side. This is very important in handling disaster information as it leads to suppressed
investment on equipment and promote information sharing easily.
In recent years, the unevenly spreading the Internet has caused a problem called "digital
divide". The member countries of ADRC show varying degrees of Internet availability andactivity. However, some regions and countries are going to use the satellite communication
technology to access the Internet, we expect for the Internet GIS as a disaster risk management
system in an emergency more eagerly than ever.

3-5-2. Overview of "Development of Disaster Information
Network System in the Asian Region"
ADRC, with financial assistance from the Japan Science and Technology Corporation,
conducted the project "Development of Disaster Information Network System in the AsianRegion" over a period of three years from September 1998 until September 2001. As a part ofthis activity, "VENTEN (Vehicle through Electric Network of disasTer gEographicalinformatioN)", the Internet GIS with disaster reduction management information, wasdeveloped. The outline of the entire project is as follows:
1) Project name
"Development of Disaster Information Network System in the Asian Region"

2) Field of assistanceCalculation Science Technology Applied-Specific Research and Development Promotion
Project (specific field: Environment and Safety)3) Research representative
Yujiro Ogawa (ADRC)
4) Administrator of research
Bambang Rudyanto (ADRC, from April, 2000 until September, 2001)
Hirotaka Suzuki (ADRC, from October, 1998 until March, 2000)
5) Project duration period
From September, 1998 until September, 2001
6) Major subjects of project・Construction of a platform for sharing disaster reduction information via Internet GIS(VENTEN system)
・Construction of a search engine of disaster reduction information
・Geographical information database for disaster reduction (map of Asia, populations,
NOAA satellite images, active faults, tsunami (historic data))

１

ADRC Annual Report No.4 (2001)

・Construction of information partnerships based on remote sensing analysis7) Summary of project results
The major results from the project can be summed up in the following two points:
・Construction of the disaster reduction information platform, "VENTEN", for Internet GIS・Construction of the disaster reduction information database
The following can be pointed out as the remaining problem for future research:
・Expansion and enrichment of the database
・Development of technology to use satellite data
・Interactive communication of real-time disaster reduction information
The Papers that resulted from this research project were published as the "Final Report ofDevelopment of Disaster Information Network System in the Asian Region: 'VENTEN' System"(ISBN 4-901614-01-0).

3-5-3. Development of "VENTEN (Vehicle through Electric
Network of disasTer gEographical informatioN)"
3-5-3-1. Background of development of "VENTEN"
The improved reliability of information extracted from satellite images with theprogress of image processing technology in recent years enables us to extract
various kind of information via remote sensing at anytime and anyplace and also
to apply the information to disaster management. At this point, no available
system can be linked directly to the reduction of disasters and operate inconjunction with disaster reduction activities. This is due to the focus ontechnological breakthroughs by satellite image providers, which resulted in thelack of enthusiastic participation by those who are involved in the actual disaster
reduction activities in this area. It is also due to the difficulty in using theinformation only extracted from satellite images in actual operations and theinformation is not useful unless in connection with general geographicalinformation such as topography and natural conditions, and social informationsuch as population, structures, and infrastructures. In the introduction of thegeographical information system (GIS), which is the platform for analysis byoverlay of this geographical information, high costs and skill are required andposes enormous hurdles in the ability to use satellite information for disaster
reduction.
At the first ADRC Expert Meeting, held February 16 to 18, 1999, a workshop entitled“Utilization of Technologies” was organized to discuss the use of GIS and remote sensing fordisaster reduction. The following conclusions were reached:
All member countries recognized the value of GIS and remote sensing, and their advantages
in information management.
Future problems are acquiring real-time satellite images, acquiring satellite data at lower costs,
technological support for introducing GIS and remote sensing, and acquiring technologies for
extracting disaster reduction information.
Despite the high interest shown in GIS and remote sensing by the disaster reduction
departments in each country, high costs and the necessary skills pose obstacles in theapplication of these technologies.
In order to resolve these problems, the ADRC developed VENTEN (Vehicle throughElectric Network of disasTer gEographical informatioN), a Internet Geographical Information
System for disaster reduction that can be accessed by anyone, anywhere, using the rapidly
expanding the Internet.
3-5-3-2. Goal for the development of "VENTEN"
The goals in the development of VENTEN were to provide both a system and data. Thissystem can be used with a PC connected to the Internet and installed a browser for WWW.
Many international organizations and so on provide basic geographical information such as
topography and natural conditions. In order to browse and analysis this information, it isnecessary to convert the data format according to that used by GIS. Thus in developing
VENTEN, various kind of geographical information was gathered and converted to a format
which can be used easily on the VENTEN and provided together with the system.
Fig. 3-5-3-1 shows theplacement of VENTEN. On theleft, various space development
agencies, research institutes andorganizations to produce such as
aerial photograph information,
which provide the original
primary data. In order to extract
useful information for disaster
VENTEN System
reduction from this primary data,
numerous image processing andoverlays are required, as are themeans to send this information
to the persons handling theactual disaster reduction work.
Disaster reduction researchers
can also browse, analyze
information, and add theirresults to VENTEN. The
Fig. 3‑5‑3‑1 Placement of VENTEN
VENTEN system has databaseand analysis utilities for remotesensing information of disaster
reduction management and serves as the information transmission route to persons working on
disaster reduction. This enables to make full use of remote sensing information of disaster
reduction in actual activities to reduce damage, the preparation of disaster reduction plans andthe support of rescue activities.

3-5-3-3. Overview of "VENTEN"
1)Structure
VENTEN system consists of the Web server, GIS server and database server. Fig. 3-5-3-2
shows the information processing flow in VENTEN. First of all the request from users are
accepted by the Web server. The Web server specifies necessary information including whatkind of geographical data and what part of an area are needed (possible to specify multiple
geographical data), for the GIS server. The GIS server, referring to the data server if necessary,
extracts the subject from the geographical data those accumulated within it and then upload
data to the Web server in a form of a raster data image. The Web server arranges a country
selection menu, disaster information selection menu, show/hide selection button, scale and area
management button to be displayed besides
the geographical data. Then it sends users as
W eb S e r v e rUsersa hypertext file including the raster image
G IS Se r ve r
Requestdata provided by the GIS server.
The system is built with aiming that even
first-time users can use easily, so jumping
from the main page to the online manual,tutorials and database are available (Fig.
D B S er v er
3-5-3-3). To display NOAA satellite images
and contour images of land elevation are alsoavailable. Fig. 3-5-3-4 shows the home page Fig. 3‑5‑3‑2 Processing Flow of VENTENof the VENTEN system.
There are a couple of systems for Internet
Wi nd ow s NT I I S

In fo rm at ix & Ca d Co rp
SI S on W ind ow s NT

Mi cr os o f t A ct iv e
Se rv er P age
Co mm an d Re q u e s t

B i t m a p I m ag e

３

Fig. 3‑5‑3‑4 VENTEN System Initial
ScreenADRC Annual Report No.4 (2001)

based GIS. One of them can be used bydownloading an application program.
Another system based on the image maps isused as just a viewer of geographicalinformation. The method adopted by
VENTEN can be positioned between those
two systems in terms of functions. In otherwords, users can handle the vector data on
VENTEN, but obtain only the raster data
based on the vector data. Although it restricts
users to obtain data, this system solves theFig. 3‑5‑3‑3 VENTEN Main Page
problems of difference in response caused bydifferent network environments of clientmachine at the time of operation, and of copyright for data. For Internet GIS, traffic load on the
network sending data is problematic. However, since this system only sends fixed scale imagesof 470 x 470 pixels to be displayed at the center of the VENTEN screen, calculations on theserver-side take longer time and differences in network environment between VENTEN and
end users do not have a significant load of sending data. Most data processing is done by aserver machine and all the client machine should do is display the data it receives, so thatdifference of performance in various client machines does not show significant influence. It iseasy to persuade many data providers to join in this system because vector data, which is very
close to the original information in its amount, is not given to users. The users will finally get
only the raster data, but they can treat it as if they could directly access the vector data.

2)Functions
VENTEN has GIS standard functionsof "drawing a map in any scale","buffering", "overlaying" and "searchingby location and attribute". Fig. 3-5-3-5
shows a buffer area with extracted resultsof population of cities in the area. The
buffer is set to 50 km with Narita
International Airport as its center. The
city names and their population in thatarea are displayed as shown.
The shortest route analysis function
helps determine the shortest route for
evacuation and transportation of supplies.
To put it concretely, the source of the
supplies is taken as the starting point S
and the damaged area as the destination
E. Among the many routes displayed,
the shortest route is displayed in boldlines (Figure 3-5-3-6). This function
is not only useful for searching theshortest route but also for searchingroutes to avoid the damaged area by
the combination of other functions
and the buffering function.
As described above, VENTEN
provides the raster-formatted images
to the end users, but the users canmake various requests to process thevector data on the server.

Fig. 3‑5‑3‑5 Designation of 50 km range from
Narita Airport as Buffer on VENTEN (top) and
Results of Calculation of Population in
Buffer Area (bottom)
Fig. 3‑5‑3‑6 Results
Shortest RouteofAnalysisof3)Data
VENTEN gathers data for the 23 member countries of the ADRC. Collecting two types of
information; one is the basic geographical information which is useful for not only disaster
reduction, particularly topography and natural conditions, the other is geographical informationof disaster reduction management on maps. Until now, the following information has beengathered (refer to Fig. 3-5-3-7):①Basic geographical information
National borders (polygon), water systems (line,
polygon), railroads (line), roads (line), airports(point), position of cities (point), city name(character strings), population (numerical value),
shaded image based on elevation (raster image),contour map of elevation (raster images) (datasource: DCW (Digital Chart of the World), GRID,GTOPO30) and NOAA satellite data of vegetation
indices (of two terms, July and December 1998).
②Geographical information of disaster
reduction management
The flooded areas of the 1998 Chang Jiang
deluge, the affected information of houses aroundNishinomiya Station at the 1995 Great
Hanshin-Awaji
Earthquake,theaffected
information for each sections at the 1995 Great
Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake (by Building ResearchInstitute, Government of Japan) and the active
fault distribution map.
A menu on basic geographical information isarranged at the bottom right of the VENTEN
screen, to enable user to control on/off of theinformation as the need arises. The vegetation
indices with 16 km resolution (of two terms, Julyand December 1998) by NOAA satellite data hasenabled to get the land use, which is indispensablefor disaster risk management. Introduction of datafrom other satellites such as LANDSAT, SPOT,
and ALOS is under consideration.

５

Fig. 3‑5‑3‑7 Map of basic
Geographical Information (top) andMaps including Satellite Data of
NOAA Vegetation Indices (bottom)

ADRC Annual Report No.4 (2001)

3-5-3-4. Future development plan of "VENTEN"
1)Basic geographical information
Some countries among the 23 member countries of ADRC are now preparing their basic
geographical information. Currently, ADRC is gathering such data. Then it will be modified
and imported into VENTEN in the early time of the fiscal year 2002. (Refer to Tables 3-5-3-1
to 3.)
Table 3‑5‑3‑1 Countries for Which Basic Geographical Information are preparing
No.
Country
Official Country Name

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

Azerbaidjan
Afghanistan
Armenia
Iraq
Iran
KyrgyzGeorgia
TurkeyTurkmenistan
Pakistan
BhutanBrunei

Azerbaidjan Republic
Afghanistan
Republic of Armenia
Republic of Iraq
Islamic Republic of Iran
Kyrgyz Republic
Georgia
Republic of Turkey
Turkmenistan
Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Kingdom of Bhutan
Brunei Darussalam

Table 3‑5‑3‑2 List of Basic Geographical Information (Vector Data)
Data Name
Data Structure

Airport Data
Cultural Facility Data
River (Polygon) Data
River (Line) Data
Land Use Data
Coastline Data
City Name Data
Road Data
Railway Data
Transportation Facility(Line) Data
Transportation Facility(Point) Data

AEPOINTCLPOINTDNAREADNLINELCAREA
POAREAPPPOINTRDLINERRLINE

Point
Point
PolygonLine
PolygonPolygon
Point
Line
Line

TSLINELineTSPOINT

Point

Table 3‑5‑3‑3 List of Basic Geographical Information (Raster Data)
Image File Name
Data Structure

Contour Image Data
Shaded Image Data

Dem
ReliefRaster （Approx. 10km Resolution）
Raster （Approx. 10km Resolution）
Raster （Approx. 1km Resolution）

2)Geographical Information of Disaster Reduction Management
Information of active fault distribution in Asian countries is extremely important inearthquake disaster reduction. However, there are many difficulties to gather and arrange actual
data due to the severe natural environment and economic and technical reasons. ADRC, incollaboration with the Disaster Management Planning Hyogo Office of the United Nations
Center for Regional Development (UNCRD), is developing a data processing method to
identify active faults found on the surface through stereoscopic vision of aerial photographs.
This method has an advantage of revealing existence of conspicuous active faults without any
geological survey of the subject areas. We are investigating to incorporate these data into
VENTEN.
3)Linkage with satellite data suppliers
ADRC is currently conducting researches on construction of a disaster information network
utilizing high-speed Internet satellite and mobile technology under cooperation with the
National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA) and the Communications ResearchLaboratory (CRL). The purposes of this network are to instantaneously transmit information ofdisasters occurring in the Asian region to ADRC and to contribute to understanding situationsof disaster-affected areas and deployment of international emergency assistance. In addition, it
can be used as a real-time examination of images shooting by the crew on site to assess
remotely risks concerning the collapse of buildings. Another subject of research is the method
for VENTEN to use data from the Advanced Land Observing Satellite（ALOS）that is planned
for launch in 2004.
4)User interface and function improvements
Some parts of the current version of VENTEN are yet to be improved to provide moresophisticated user-interface. It is necessary to make clear what points the end-users need
improvement through questionnaires and workshops to support the administration ofwell-planned development.

７