3-2. Datebase on Disaster Risk Reduction
The ADRC has been disseminating many different types of information related todisaster risk reduction on its website (http://www.adrc.asia) aiming at ensuring anappropriate disaster response, mitigation, and preparedness activities.

3-2-1. Current Situation of Disaster Information Sharing
With increasing efforts made in activities regarding disaster risk reduction in Asia, there is agrowing need for establishing information network among relevant agencies. This section deals
with updates of DRR information sharing of the world and introduces a recent move, DRR
Project portal followed by the situation of information sharing activities by ADRC.
The UN/OCHA has long been providing highly reliable disaster information through its
website, ReliefWeb covering various disaster information collected from all over the world,
including not only national and international/regional organizations but also media and NGOs.
Furthermore, its information ranges from immediate reports after disaster occurrences, emergency
response and relief activities throughmid to long-term recovery and reconstruction phases,

satellite images and maps of disaster-hit areas.
Especially since 1980, the UN/OCHA has been releasing Situation Reports on large-scaledisasters on document basis, compiling various types of information as stated above.
Prevention Web, operated by UNISDR, offers comprehensive information including disasteroccurrence, national disaster management organizations, progress of HFA implementation,
training & meeting events, and publication. Prevention Web is also linked to disaster database,
EM-DAT, allowing users to access to disaster statistics of countries.
The above-mentioned EMDAT is a database developed by Center for Research on theEpidemiology of Disasters (CRED), Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels (Belgium). It
covers statistical data on both natural and technological disasters from 1900 which meet theirregistry criteria such as disasters with fatalities of more than 10 people.
DRR Portal made its launch in 2010 as database of DRR projects. The online information
sharing system, developed by ISDR Asia Partnership (IAP), aims to promote information sharing
among relevant agencies implementing HFA priorities in Asia and Pacific, and efficiently
implement DRR programs in the region. With the financial support by Asian Development Bank(ADB), Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) mainly operates the system in cooperation
with the ADRC and other IAP members.
So far more than 500 projects are registered in DRR Portal including completed, ongoing andplanned ones with project titles, target countries, project outlines. Also available in the portal isinformation on DRR framework in the region and main DRR organizations.
Such information can help promote collaboration with relevant agencies in the region, avoid
overlapping activities, and contribute to create better DRR action plans.

103. Collection and Distribution of Disaster Information

Fig. 1-3-1-1DRR Portal (above: top page, below: list of projects)

The ADRC has put the latest disaster information mainly of its member countries in Asia andthe world on its website. The information is continually revised based on various reports fromthe ReliefWeb and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies(IFRC) etc. When Sentinel Asia emergency observation is conducted by earth observation
satellites, such satellite imageries are available through the links.
In addition, the ADRC offered a variety of information on past disasters, disastermanagement systems and country reports of its 29 member countries and 5 observers inJapanese, English and Russian (partially), serving as an effective site for obtaining disasteroccurrence and disaster risk management information of the ADRC member countries

113-2-2. Data Book on Asian Natural Disasters
Every year natural hazards hit the Asian region, causing tremendous loss of life andlivelihood, and jeopardizing potential sustainable development. As part of its information
sharing activities, ADRC has been compiling a data book annually since 2002, which includes
the overview of the disaster occurrences and impacts of the world and Asia, based on the data
accumulated from EM-DAT, along with numerous other statistics and analyses.
In 2010, ADRC published the data book in which natural disasters occurred in fiscal year
2009 were analyzed. The number of killed in 2009 was about 15,000, far less than the numberin 2008, when Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar (app. 138,000 people killed) and Sichuan
Earthquake in China (app. 87,000 people killed) occurred. In 2009, Typhoon Morakot inTaiwan in August (app. 630 people killed), Typhoon Ketsana in the Philippines in September(app. 510 people killed), and earthquake in Sumatra in September (app. 1,200 people killed)ranked in the worst 5 disaster based on number of people killed.
The analysis in the data book suggests that Asia region accounts for 35.8% of the disasteroccurrence in the year while that of the killed people is 52.1% and that of the affected people is78.3%. This shows the vulnerability to disasters in the region.

3-2-3. Current Status of “GLIDE”
GLIDE is the acronym for the GLobal unique disaster IDEntifier system, in which
commonly formatted but unique numbers are assigned to disasters all over the world. TheGLIDE system was first proposed by ADRC and has been adopted and used by more than 20
international organizations and research institutes.
ADRC has its own criteria for how new GLIDE numbers are generated. In Japan, a new
GLIDE number will be generated if a disaster occurs in which either five or more people are
killed or 100 or more people are injured. In other countries, a new GLIDE number will begenerated if a disaster occurs in which either 10 or more people are killed or 100 or more
people are injured.

3-2-3-1. Disaster Information Sharing Using GLIDE Numbers
There are many organizations around the world that design and develop their own disasterdatabases that are freely accessible online. When a disaster occurs, information is distributed
over the Internet not only by organizations in the affected countries but also by organizations
and the mass media in other countries. Whenever a disaster occurs in any part of the world,
ADRC collects information from websites of relevant organizations and worldwide news
agencies, or by sending e-mails to contact persons in the affected area. Over the course of its
experience, ADRC has come up against several problems in collecting disaster information
using these conventional methods, including the following.

123. Collection and Distribution of Disaster Information(1) Considerable manpower is needed to search the Internet for websites of relevant
individual organizations every time a disaster occurs.
(2) There is no standardized naming protocol for disasters. As many different names aregiven to a certain single disaster by various organizations, even search engines such asGoogle or Yahoo sometimes return no results.
(3) Website links may be lost when the structure of particular organization's database orwebsite is modified.
The GLIDE system offers a solution to these problems. It will significantly improve theefficiency with which information on historical and ongoing disasters can be retrieved fromdatabases and websites.
At the Global Disaster Information Network (GDIN) Conference held in Canberra, Australia
in March 2001, ADRC proposed the development of a standardized coding system for
managing information on disasters around the world. This proposal was accepted for
implementation as a pilot project by the GDIN. In 2004, glidenumber.net was jointly developedby the ADRC and OCHA ReliefWeb, with technical assistance provided by LaRED. It is
designed to issue new GLIDE numbers to disasters immediately after they occur. Moreover,ADRC, the CRED, IRI/Columbia University, the USAID/OFDA, the WMO, IFRC, UNDP,and ISDR Secretariat have agreed to use the GLIDE number format as the standard for
assigning disaster identification numbers.
The GLIDE number format was revised in 2004 as follows:

Drought
Heat Wave
Cold Wave
Tropical Cyclone
Extratropical Cyclone
TornadoViolent Wind
Severe Local StormFloodFlash Flood
Land Slide
Snow Avalanche
Mud Slide
VolcanoEarthquake
FireTsunami
Storm Surge
Epidemic
Insect Infestation
Wild Fire
OthersComplex Emergency
Technological

AA-BBBB-CCCCCC-DDD-EEE
AA: Disaster classification→→→→→→→→BBBB: Year of occurrence(4-digit numeric figure)
CCCCCC: Serial number by year
DDD: Country code
(ISO code. e.g., JPN for Japan)
EEE: Region code(e.g., 013 for Tokyo)

Fig 3-2-3-1 Structure of GLIDE13DR
HWCWTCECTOVWSTFLFF
LSAVMSVOEQFRTSSSEPINWFOTCEACThe local code at the end can be added for the convenience of user countries in organizing
their national databases. This format is still in use among GLIDE-issuing organizations.
Databases that incorporate GLIDE numbers will have the following advantages:(1)

A parameterized search function allows user organizations to easily connect pieces ofdisaster information archived by various organizations.

(2)

A search engine, developed to focus on particularly important information for userorganizations, allows a one-stop search and display of all the necessary data, eliminating
the need to conduct additional searches for data independently archived by individualorganizations.

The current status of GLIDE use by partner organizations is described in the table below.

GLIDE number
issuance &utilization on
disasterwebsite/database

GLIDE number
utilization on
disasterwebsite/database

Table 3-2-3-2 Current Glide Partnerships
Status of GLIDE utilization
Uses GLIDE numbers to report latest
disasters, in conjunction withReliefWeb.
OCHA ReliefWeb (Office for
Issues GLIDE numbers and creates
the Coordination oflinkages using GLIDE numbers.
Humanitarian Affairs)
LaRED
A disaster database in Latin America.
Issues GLIDE numbers to its own
database records.
International Federation ofIssues GLIDE numbers when
Red Cross and Red Crescenttransmitting disaster information for Red
Societies (IFRC)
Cross activities.
JRC/GDACS (EU)Disaster information website in the EU
Caribbean Disaster
GLIDE numbers are utilized in theEmergency Response Agency disaster databases of Caribbean(CDERA)
countries.
OCD, NDCC (Philippines)
Issues GLIDE numbers to records on
disasters over the past 35 years in a joint
project with ADRC and publishes them
online.
UN Food and Agriculture
Uses GLIDE numbers to link existing
Organization (FAO)
disaster records to the FAO’s Mapping
System of agricultural disasters.
Japan Aerospace Exploration
Scheduled to provide satellite
Agency (JAXA)
information linked to the latest disaster
information of ADRC.
Dartmouth FloodUses GLIDE numbers to floods recorded
Observatory (Dartmouthworldwide.
University, USA)UNOSAT
Utilizes GLIDE numbers in theprovision of satellite images.
Benfield (UK)
Research agency of a reinsurancecompany in UK that utilizes GLIDE
numbers on its disaster website(inTERRAgate).
Name of organization
Asian Disaster Reduction
Center (ADRC)

14

3. Collection and Distribution of Disaster Information

SHELUDUS (South Carolina
University, US)GLIDE-supportinginternationalorganizations

PDC (Pacific DisasterCenter)
National Research Institute ofEarth Science & Disaster
Prevention (NIED)
United Nations Development
Programs (UNDP),
International Strategy for
Disaster Reduction (ISDR),
CRED, WMO

Uses GLIDE numbers to disaster data inUS. GLIDE can be used as a searchterm.
Uses GLIDE numbers to disasters on its
website.
Uses GLIDE numbers to disasters in its
database.
GLIDE propagation and promotion aresupported by these UN organizations.

3-2-3-2. Way forward
The ADRC has taken an initiative of the promotion of GLIDE. For further developments of
GLIDE, there are several points to be improved.
Different international organizations including the ADRC, ReliefWeb of the UN Office for
the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA, Relief Web), the International Federation ofRed Cross and Red Crescent Society (IFRC) and the LaRED (disaster database in Latin
America) are currently entitled to issue GLIDE numbers. One of the operational issues ofGLIDE is that each organization has its own standards and criteria for issuance of GLIDE, thus
brought about inconsistency among organizations. Yet in the meantime, there is an opposite
argument to support the inconsistency from the perspective of promotion of GLIDE. What isneeded for the betterment of the GLIDE operation is to hold meetings regularly to discuss
about the problems and obstacles that each organization has.

15