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

3-2-1. Information on Disaster Management Systems in
Member and Advisor Countries
The ADRC has been providing up-to-date
information on disaster management systems
in the member and advisor countries as usefulreferences for planning and implementing
disaster risk management activities in Asiaand the world.
The webpage of “Information on Disaster
Risk Reduction of Member Countries”
outlines general information including a brief
description of climate and geographicalconditions, overview of disasters, and disastermanagement system including legal system,
organizations for dealing with disaster risk
management, basic plans for disaster risk
mitigation and reduction in each country.
Further, the page provides country reports
compiled by the member countries for moredetailed information mentioned above. The
reports also include progress of theimplementation of the priority actions ofFig. 3-2-1 Country Profiles on DRR
http://www.adrc.asia/disaster/index.html

Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA)
2005-2015. In 2009, the reports of Malaysia,Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Thailand have been updated.

143. Collection and Distribution of Disaster Information

3-2-2. Total Disaster Risk Management, Good Practices2009
Since its inception in 1998, the ADRC has been pursuing safety and security fir those livingin Asia through various means, including information sharing, human resource development,and community capacity-building. Further along this line, the ADRC has been collaboration
with the UN and other international organizations/disaster management institutions in eachcountry toward implementing the HFA.
“Total Disaster Risk Management: Good Practices ” has been published annually sinceJanuary 2005, when the United Nations World Conference on Disaster Reduction (WCDR) was
held in Kobe, Japan. It is intend as a user-friendly publication and aims to further promotedisaster risk reduction activities by demonstration positive examples collected from different
countries.
The good practices in disaster risk management activities by governments, localgovernments, universities, international organizations, NGOs and the general public aredistributed in ADRC website.

Japanese version

English version

15

3-2-3. 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. For example, in 2008, twohistoric disasters, Cyclone Nargis and Sichuan Earthquake brought about devastating impacts
on Myanmar and China. A total of 226,000 people were killed by the disasters alone,accounting for 95 percent of the world’s killed people in the year, while include other disasters
that occurred in Asia, 97 percent of killed people in the year were from Asia. Similar trend isfound in the number of the affected people and the amount of damage of the year, to show thevulnerability to disasters in the region.
As part of its information sharing activities, ADRC has been compiling a data bookannually since 2002, which includes the overview of the disaster occurrences and impacts of theworld and Asia, based on the data accumulated from EM-DAT, along with numerous otherstatistics and analyses. Now Data Book 2007 is available online at ADRC’s website.

3-2-4. 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.

3-2-4-1. 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.

16

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 are
given to a certain single disaster by various organizations, even search engines such as
Google 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 formanaging information on disasters around the world. This proposal was accepted forimplementation 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, andISDR Secretariat have agreed to use the GLIDE number format as the standard for assigningdisaster identification numbers.

17

The GLIDE number format was revised in 2004 as follows:
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)

Drought

DR

Heat Wave

HW

Cold Wave

CW

Tropical Cyclone

TC

Extratropical Cyclone

EC

TornadoTO

Violent Wind

VW

Severe Local Storm

ST

Flood

FL

Flash FloodFF

Land Slide

LS

Snow AvalancheAV

Mud SlideMS

VolcanoVO

Earthquake

EQ

Fire

FR

TsunamiTS

Storm SurgeSS

Epidemic

EP

Insect InfestationIN

Wild Fire

WF

OthersOTComplex Emergency

CETechnologicalAC

Fig 3-2-4-1 Structure of GLIDE

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)(2)

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

18

3. Collection and Distribution of Disaster Information
The current status of GLIDE use by partner organizations is described in the table below.

GLIDE number
issuance &utilization on
disasterwebsite/database

Name of organization
Asia Disaster Reduction Center(ADRC)OCHA ReliefWeb (Office forthe Coordination ofHumanitarian Affairs)
LaRED
International Federation of Red
Cross and Red CrescentSocieties (IFRC)
JRC/GDACS (EU)Caribbean Disaster Emergency
Response Agency (CDERA)
OCD, NDCC (Philippines)

GLIDE number
utilization ondisasterwebsite/database

UN Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO)
Japan Aerospace Exploration
Agency (JAXA)
Dartmouth Flood Observatory(Dartmouth University, USA)UNOSAT
Benfield (UK)

SHELUDUS (South Carolina
University, US)
PDC (Pacific Disaster Center)

GLIDE-supportinginternationalorganizations

National Research Institute ofEarth Science & Disaster
Prevention (NIED)
United Nations Development
Programs (UNDP),
International Strategy for
Disaster Reduction (ISDR),
CRED, WMOFig 3-2-4-2 Current Glide Partnerships

19Status of GLIDE utilization
Uses GLIDE numbers to report latest
disasters, in conjunction with ReliefWeb.
Issues GLIDE numbers and creates
linkages using GLIDE numbers.
A disaster database in Latin America.
Issues GLIDE numbers to its own
database records.
Issues GLIDE numbers whentransmitting disaster information for Red
Cross activities.
Disaster information website in the EU
GLIDE numbers are utilized in thedisaster databases of Caribbean countries.
Issues GLIDE numbers to records on
disasters over the past 35 years in a joint
project with ADRC and publishes them
online.
Uses GLIDE numbers to link existingdisaster records to the FAO’s Mapping
System of agricultural disasters.
Scheduled to provide satellite
information linked to the latest disaster
information of ADRC.
Uses GLIDE numbers to floods recorded
worldwide.
Utilizes GLIDE numbers in the provisionof satellite images.
Research agency of a reinsurancecompany in UK that utilizes GLIDE
numbers on its disaster website(inTERRAgate).
Uses GLIDE numbers to disaster data inUS. GLIDE can be used as a search term.
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.