ADRC Highlights
Asian Disaster Reduction Center Monthly News
● Promoting Cooperation with Affiliated Institutions
Vol. 354
September2022
TOPICSPromoting Cooperation
with AffiliatedInstitutions¶ EPWG-18 Meeting, 18August 2022
¶ 15th Senior Disaster
Management Officials
Forum, 19 August 2022
Report from ADRC
InternMr Keir Hamilton (LundUniversity)
Announcement¶ Workshop on BOSAI
KOKUTAI 2022 (NationalConference for Promoting
Disaster Risk Reduction)¶ The 3rd APEC VirtualWorkshop on CatastropheBonds

EPWG-18 Meeting, 18 August 2022

Japan’s delegation to the 18th APEC Emergency Preparedness Working Group(EPWG) meeting held on 18 August 2022 included four officials from the Asian
Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC). Mr SUZUKI Koji, who is serving as current
co-chair of the EPWG participated in person in Chiangmai, Thailand while Mr
SASAHARA Akio, Ms SHIOMI Yumi, and Mr Gerald Potutan participated online.
The government of Thailand hosted the meeting with the theme of “Promoting
Disaster Risk Reduction and Strengthening Partnership Toward Resilient Recovery
After COVID-19.”
ADRC gave two presentations at the meeting. The first presentation showed theapplication of the GLIDE numbering system and the utilization of satellite images
in documenting recent disasters (2021-2022) in Asia and the Pacific region. In
applying the GLIDE numbering system, ADRC assigns common but unique
numbers to disasters to support the integration of disaster risk reduction (DRR)
data as well as to improve the efficiency of retrieving historical and ongoingdisaster information from various databases across different countries andorganizations. Moreover, ADRC also provides to member countries “before-andafter” satellite images of disaster-impacted areas through Sentinel Asia - aninitiative led by the Asia Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF) to
support disaster management with WEB-GIS technology and earth observation
satellite data. The second presentation showed the potential contribution of Japan’s
early warning service (EWS) using the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) to
support evacuation and response activities. QZSS, which is a constellation ofJapanese Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), has the capacity to send
warning information using space satellites. QZSS is expected to offer greaterapplications in remote and mountainous areas with poor coverage of ground-based
telecommunications networks. It would also help protect the early warning
message from vulnerable telecommunications systems against service disruptions
during extreme disaster events. For this project, the Cabinet of Japan is initiallyinviting the following countries to participate in feasibility studies anddemonstrations: Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia,Philippines, Thailand, Bangladesh, Nepal, Australia, and Fiji.
As indicated in both presentations, ADRC has been implementing DRR projects
in the Asia-Pacific region and would like to further leverage greater partnerships in
the EPWG to strengthen regional efforts.

Asian DisasterReduction Center
Higashikan 5F, 1-5-2
Wakinohamakaigan-dori,Chuo-ku, Kobe
651-0073 Japan
Tel: 078-262-5540
Fax: 078-262-5546
editor@adrc.asia
https://www.adrc.asia© ADRC 2022

EPWG Meeting1

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15th Senior Disaster Management Officials Forum, 19 August 2022

One of the key discussions at the 15th Senior Disaster Management Officials Forum (SDMOF-15) held on
19 August 2022 in Chiangmai, Thailand focused on whether the APEC EPWG should update the 2015
APEC Disaster Risk Reduction Framework and the 2016 DRR Action Plan in the context of post-COVID19 recovery.
It was noted that in 2015, APEC leaders adopted the APEC Disaster Risk Reduction Framework tocontribute to the development of adaptive and disaster-resilient Asia-Pacific economies that are able toachieve inclusive and sustainable development in the face of disasters in a “new normal” context. The
Framework, and its corresponding DRR Action Plan, recognizes that addressing the impacts of disasters
requires holistic, more proactive, multi-stakeholder, multi-sectoral, and strategic interventions to make oureconomies more resilient. Hence, the Framework cuts across all areas of the APEC agenda, including
agriculture, forestry, fisheries, trade and investments, energy, micro, small, and medium enterprises(MSMEs), infrastructure development, critical infrastructure resiliency, financial resiliency, human capital,
health, gender, food security, science and technology, and ecological integrity. After seven years ofimplementation, the economies of Chinese Taipei, the Philippines, and Chile expressed the need to review
and update the documents.
Given this discussion, ADRC expressed support for updating the 2015 APEC Disaster Risk Reduction
Framework and its corresponding DRR Action Plan to make these documents more responsive to postpandemic recovery efforts in the region as well as to align them with the Putrajaya Vision 2040 and its
corresponding Aotearoa Plan of Action (APA).

SDMOF-15● Report from ADRC Intern
Mr Keir Hamilton (Lund University)

Hello!
I am a MSc. student in Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change
Adaptation at Lund University, Sweden. This summer I undertook aninternship with ADRC to combine my professional and academic
development. During my internship I worked on creating the latest editionof the ADRC Databook (2021), which was an analytical overview ofdisaster data from 1990-2021. Focal points were global trends, Asiantrends, ADRC-member country situations and the monitoring of COVID19. Utilising total affected, total deaths, and total USD damages (000’s), I
graphically represented the disaster landscape, and using a qualitative
analysis assessed the implications.
Key findings
We found that hazards have increased in frequency and severity. Improved methods of forecasting,recognition, and assessment alongside a changing hazard landscape contributed to a significant upward
trend of disaster occurrence from 1900-2021, and an accelerated upward trend from 1990-2021. Asia is theworst affected continent, with China being the worst affected in terms of affected, occurrence and damages.
The most common disaster events were floods and storms, with both becoming more common as climatic
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Continued

changes take place. Lastly, as part of the qualitative analysis we looked into a key determinants section
which explored the statistical impact of population, level of development, socio-political conditions andtimestamp bias on disaster data.
Reflection
Working with the ADRC team was a memorable experience, and it allowed me to expand my knowledge
and improved my understanding of the disaster landscape. Using this foundation, I aim to continually
improve disaster reduction methodologies and allow for effective change for a more resilient long termfuture.
Thank you.
Keir Hamilton● Announcement
Workshop on BOSAI KOKUTAI 2022 (National Conference for Promoting Disaster RiskReduction)

As a side event of the “BOSAI KOKUTAI 2022” to be held at HAT Kobe on 22-23 October 2022, theADRC will hold a workshop "Differences of DRM in Japan as seen by Foreign Residents in Japan - DRM
Cooperation Starting from Understanding the Differences -".
Your registration is highly welcome.
- Date: October 22, 2022 (Saturday), 15:30-16:30- Event Format: Hybrid(Venue) Seminar Room 33 and 34, 3F, JICA Kansai(Online) Via Zoom

- Registration: Please register in advance(Face-to-Face) https://bit.ly/BK2022ADRC2(Online) https://bit.ly/BK2022ADRC- Contact: bosai_kokutai2022@adrc.asia
The 3rd APEC Virtual Workshop on Catastrophe Bonds

The 3rd APEC Virtual Workshop on Catastrophe Bonds will be held on 4 October 2022 at 09:00-11:30(UTC+7).
This workshop aims to provide a forum for learning from recent developments in the catastrophe bonds
markets about innovative approaches, such as the government debt to “catastrophe wrapper,” and forgaining new insights from the initiation of plans to implement catastrophe bonds.
For details and registration info, please contact Ms Marian Albano (marian.albano@wtwco.com).

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