3-3. Information on the ADRC Website and Online
Information Sharing
3-3-1. Latest Disaster Information Database
With the increasing number of disaster occurrences and as many or more reports released, it
is critical to gather necessary information from reliable sources in one place.
Since September 1998, the Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC) has compiled a
database of information on recent natural disasters of the world, especially Asia on its website
in English and Japanese, serving as a clearinghouse for disaster information.
The database provides a summary of each disaster (date, location, and overview, GLIDEnumber), a brief outline of the damage sustained, links to information categorized byreports/articles, geographic data, emergency relief information, urgent reports from ADRCmembers, and graphic information. Such information is continually updated as additional
information is released.
The posted information originates mainly from the reports and announcements provided bydisaster organizations in ADRC member countries, UNOCHA ReliefWeb, the International
Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), and the media.
The Latest Disaster Information page also includes links to relevant disaster management
organizations and country profiles contained within the ADRC website, allowing it to serve as aportal to various kinds of information.
The database has had links to “JAXA DMSS” since 2007 to enhance the value of the site byproviding access to satellite images of disaster affected sites in cases where emergency satellite
observations were conducted. As of the end of March 2010, the database provides informationof about 1,400 disasters in total.

Fig. 3-3-1 Latest Disaster Information

20

3. Collection and Distribution of Disaster Information

3-3-2. Multilanguage Glossary on Disaster Reduction(1) Provision of Multi-language Glossary on Natural Disasters
The Multi-language Glossary on Natural Disasters was compiled through the activities of theUnited Nation’s IDNDR launched in 1990. It can be easily searched in six languages such as
Chinese, English, French, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish by choosing an input language and atarget language. To make the glossary available to a broader audience, ADRC has been
providing online translation services. Thus, the six-language glossary is now available on theADRC website.
The glossary contains technical terms which are hard to find in ordinary dictionaries, and canbe utilized by personnel in the disaster field to decipher technical documents related to Disaster
Reduction.

(2) Native Language Activities by Visiting Researchers
ADRC accepts eight visiting researchers from member countries during the year to improvecapabilities in disaster reduction administration. Since 2008, ADRC has been making“Multilanguage Dictionaries” with side by side entries into the mother language of the visiting
researcher about 1,130 basic “disaster reduction terms” based on English terms.
Side by side translation lists have already been completed by researchers from Kyrgyz(Russian), Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam by March 2010, andbeen offered in the format of “Multilingual Dictionaries (Tentative)” on the ADRC website
separate from the “Multi-language Glossary,”. They were intended to serve as referencematerials for disaster reduction activities in member countries.

Fig. 3-3-2-2 Multi-language Dictionaries for Disaster Reduction (Provisional Translation)21

3-3-3. ADRC Newsletter: ADRC Highlights
The ADRC has been using the Internet and e-mail to share information with its
counterparts in member countries, and to strengthen relations with other interested parties. As
one of its mainstay tools for information dissemination, the ADRC has been issuing thenewsletter "ADRC Highlights" since 1 June 1999. It had been issued twice a month until FY
2007, and has been issued once a month since FY 2008 renewing its design.
The newsletter is made publicly available on the website. It is also e-mailed in English,
Russian and Japanese to ADRC's counterparts and former visiting researchers, former
GLIDE visiting researchers, participants in the past ADRC annual meetings, visitors to theADRC, trainees in JICA's training courses which the ADRC were involved in, andparticipants in international conferences the ADRC took part in. Also we register email
addresses of those who wish to subscribe the newsletter upon receipt of emails saying so.
This year the ADRC reorganized the mailing lists, deleting double registration and invalid
email addresses. The numbers of subscribers in Japanese, English and Russian, are 909,
2,339 and 178 respectively as of 1 March 2010.
The contents include articles on the latest ADRC activities, reports on international
conferences, and other events which ADRC staff attended and gave presentations in, as wellas national reports by ADRC visiting researchers from member countries. In addition, theADRC has been featuring former visiting researchers from member countries on thenewsletter since FY 2008 and followed up their efforts for disaster risk reduction in theircountries. This contributed to further enhancing the network of former visiting researchers
from member countries.
In order to keep good ties and communication with relevant officials in Japan and overseas,
this tool has been very effective.
Table 1-4-3-1 Headlines from ADRC Highlights (FY2009)Vol.

Main Articles¶ Promoting Cooperation with Affiliated Institutions -Disaster Reduction Project Using Satellite Imaging

193

(1)
¶ ADRC Visiting Researcher Report -Ms. Areerat Wijitpatcharaphon from Thailand¶ Announcements (1) ADRC Website Gets a Facelift! (2) Personnel Changes¶ Promoting Cooperation with Affiliated Institutions -Disaster Reduction Project Using Satellite Imaging
(2)

194

¶ Letter from a Former Visiting Researcher -Mr. Arun Pinta from Thailand¶ ADRC Staff Profile No. 35 -Mr. Tetsuo Ibaraki, Senior Researcher¶Participation in the 2nd Consultative Meeting on Establishment of Regional Disaster Preparedness andResponse Coordination Centre in Central Asia

22

3. Collection and Distribution of Disaster Information¶ ADRC Attends International Forum on Recovery and Reconstruction of Yingxiu, Sichuan Province¶ ADRC Participates in 4th Meeting of Working-Group on Disaster Prevention and Preparedness of195

UNESCAP/WMO¶ ASEAN Project: Capacity Building of Local Government Officials in Disaster Management¶ADRC Staff Profile No. 36 -Mr. Akira Morimoto, Senior Researcher, IRP¶ Announcements (1) ADRC Welcomes New Executive Director, (2) Personnel Change196¶ The Second Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction Held 15-19 June 2009
¶ Establishing an Asia-Pacific Regional Support Office of UN-SPIDER at ADRC¶ADRC Staff Profile No. 37 -Mr. Gerald Potutan, Researcher, IRP¶ Greetings from new ADRC Executive Director, Mr. Atsushi Koresawa

197¶ ADRC Welcomes a New Member: Azerbaijan¶ 2nd Joint Project Team Meeting for Sentinel Asia STEP2 (JPTM2009) Held in Indonesia¶ ADRC Staff Profile No. 38 -Mr. Makoto Fujieda, Senior Researcher¶JICA Training on Disaster Management for Central Asia and the Caucasus¶ADRC Visiting Researcher Report (1) Ms. Josefina Tan Porcil from the Philippines (2) Mr. K.A.D.P.K.

198

Kodippili from Sri Lanka¶Recent Natural Disasters in Asia: West Java Earthquake in Indonesia¶Announcements: Mr. Masaru Arakida, ADRC Senior Researcher¶Third Year of the JICA Grassroots Technical Cooperation Project Held in Kuala Lumpur

199¶ADRC Visiting Researcher Report (1) Mr. Shahid Hussain Malik from Pakistan (2) Mr. Sagar Mishra
from Nepal¶Announcements -Asian Conference on Disaster Reduction 2010
¶ Assessment Mission to Padang and Pariaman, West Sumatra, Indonesia

200¶ JICA Training Course: "Dissemination and Establishment of Disaster Prevention Culture for AsianCountries"¶ Announcements -Visiting Researchers for the ASEAN GLIDE Project¶ERRP Pull-Down Experiment

201¶DRR Policy Peer Review (Pilot Project)¶ Happy New Year 2010202

¶ International Forum on Tornado Disaster Risk Reduction for Bangladesh¶ ASEAN Project: Capacity Building of Local Government Officials on Disaster Management¶ Asian Conference on Disaster Reduction (ACDR) 2010 Draws to Successful Conclusion

203¶ JICA Training Course: "Comprehensive Disaster Risk Management," January to February 2010204

¶ Letter from a Former Visiting Researcher -Ms. Lyudmila Albertovna Harutyunyan from Armenia¶ ADRC Visiting Researcher Report (1) Mr. Amirzudi Hashim from Malaysia (2) Mrs. Phurimon Puneam
from Thailand23