2. Information Sharing

2-7. Disaster Management Internet GIS
2-7-1. Objective of Disaster Management Internet GIS
The objective of the Geographical Information System (GIS) is to make full use of spatial
data (data input and output, analyses, storage, and updating) beyond the limits of conventional
paper maps. The term “spatial data” refers to data consisting of “geographical data” and“attribute data”. Geographical data relate to distribution, locations, and configurations of
topographic features (elevations, rivers, etc.), and features of human activities and social
environments (railroads, roads and streets, buildings, land use, vegetation and population),while attribute data consist of attributes (name, class, numerical value, etc.) of such feature
items. A GIS has various functions that help users to take decisions and to perform
environmental or disaster impact assessments. Such functions include: visualization using
selective overlay of spatial data or by legends (classifiers), statistical processing using spatial
analysis, extraction (buffering) of disaster-affected areas, and selection of shortest paths.
Usually, to use GIS resources, dedicated hardware, software and databases are necessary. A
Web-based GIS has the advantage that it can be devised to enable analysis, display andacquisition of data using the Internet without requiring the user to install any special GIS
software. This is a very important point in the handling of disaster information, because it helps
reduce equipment investment and facilitates information sharing.
The accessibility to the Internet varies considerably among ADRC member countries.
However, it is certain that Internet user populations will increase in these countries, along witheasier access to faster and cheaper connection services. Moreover, the problem of unavailabilityof fixed-telephone lines is steadily diminishing thanks to the steady development of the satellite
Internet connection technology. Thus, Internet GIS resources can be expected to be a more
important component of a disaster risk management system in an emergency.

2-7-2. Development and Improvement of "VENTEN (Vehicle
through Electronic Network of disasTer gEographicalinformatioN)"
2-7-2-1. Background to the Development of "VENTEN"
Recent advancements in image prossessing technology have greatly improved the reliabilityof satellite image data (in terms of accuracy and resolution), providing favorable conditions forthe use of remote sensing technology that makes it possible to extract various data useful fordisaster reduction without spatio-temporal constraints. At present, however, the use of systems
directly applicable to disaster reduction is still very limited. One of the main reasons for this is
the fact that a disproportionately large emphasis has been placed on technologicalbreakthroughs by satellite image providers while disaster management practitioners have notbeen actively involved. Another reason is the technical difficulty of direct application of data
extracted from satellite images to disaster reduction activities. Such data do not become usablefor disaster reduction until they are analyzed in combination with natural environment data (e.g.,
topography and geology), and socio-environmental data (e.g., population, buildings, andinfrastructures). A yet additional and large obstacle to the application of satellite imagery todisaster reduction is the simple fact that it takes huge costs and high technological capabilities
to implement a Geographical Information System (GIS) as an analysis platform for such spatial
data.
At the First ADRC International Meeting held from February 16 to 18, 1999, a workshop
was organized under the theme of “Utilization of Technologies”. Discussions at the workshop
revolved around the use of GIS and remote sensing technologies for disaster reduction.
Conclusions of the workshop are as follows:□ Conclusion 1: All member countries recognize the importance and value of GIS and remotesensing technologies, and the advantages of information management.
□ Conclusion 2: Future tasks include: real-time acquisition of satellite images, cost reduction

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in satellite data acquisition, technological support for introduction of GIS and remote sensing
technologies, and establishment of technologies for extracting disaster management
information.
Thus, disaster management agencies of member countries showed strong interests in GIS andremote sensing technologies. At the same time, however, it became clear that the enormous
initial costs and the required technical standards are the obstacles to the use of thesetechnologies. Also blamed were the high usage costs for satellite image and map data.
To solve these problems, the ADRC developed the VENTEN (Vehicle through Electronic
Network of disasTer gEographical informatioN) system, an Internet-based disastermanagement GIS that can be accessed by anyone from anywhere, using the rapidly expanding
Internet. The basic framework of this system was developed as part of the “Asia Disaster
Information Network System Development Research” project funded by the Japan Science andTechnology Corporation (September 1998 - September 2001).

2-7-2-2.

Outline of “Development Research on the
Information Network System in Asian Region”

Disaster

Granted funds from the Japan Science and Technology Corporation (ACT-JST segment:
environment and safety), the ADRC conducted a three-year “Asia Disaster Information
Network System Development Research” project from September 1998 through September
2001. An Internet-based GIS disaster information system, “VENTEN” (Vehicle throughElectronic Network of disasTer gEographical informatioN), was developed as part of thisproject.
The two main achievements of the project include:□Construction of VENTEN - an internet GIS platform for disaster management informationacquisition, and□Development of a disaster management information database
Remaining issues identified at the end of the project include:□Expansion and enhancement of the database□Development of satellite data application technologies, and□Interactive transmission of real-time disaster information
Papers based on this project have been compiled into the Final Report on Development
Research for Asia Disaster Information Network System 'VENTEN' (ISBN 4-901614-01-0).

2-7-2-3. Objective of the development of "VENTEN"
The objective of the development of the VENTEN system is to provide both a system anddata (including analysis results). This system is designed to be readily used with a personal
computer connected to the Internet and installed with a WWW browser.
Although various organizations were already providing, free or at cost, not only basic map
data including topographic and natural environment information, but also GIS data, it wasnecessary to convert the data format to the requirements of the GIS software in use in order toview and analyze these data. Therefore, in the development of the VENTEN system, various
GIS data were converted into a VENTEN-compatible format to allow integrated managementof these data and the hardware.

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Fig. 2-7-2-1 illustrates thefunctional
positionofthe
VENTEN system in disaster datacollection. On the left side of the
Figurearedata
supplierorganizations including various
space research and development
institutes and aerial photograph
VENTENlaboratories, from which theoriginal primary data are provided.
SystemIn order to extract useful
information for disaster reduction
from these primary data, various
data processing tasks and data
analyses are required. Also
necessary are channels to send
extracted data to working-leveldisaster management personnel.
Fig. 2-7-2-1 Function of VENTEN
Disaster management researchers
can browse and analyze data
available from the VENTEN system, as well as feedback the results. The VENTEN system
serves as a database and analysis tool for remote sensed disaster data, and provides acommunications channel to disaster management personnel. Thus, the VENTEN system allows
effective application of disaster-related information obtained using remote-sensing and GIS
technologies to the practical aspects of disaster reduction, including disaster reduction planningand support to frontline relief operations.

2-7-2-4. Overview of "VENTEN"
1) Configuration

W eb S e r v e r

Users

Wi nd ow s NT I I S

G IS Se r ve r

RequestThe VENTEN system consists of a
Web server, a GIS server, and a databaseserver. Fig. 2-7-2-2 shows theinformation processing flow in the
VENTEN system. First, an accessrequest from the user is accepted by the
Web server. The Web server specifies thenecessary information, including thekinds of geographical data and theextents of areas, for the GIS server(multiple geographical data can be
specified as required). The GIS server
extracts the relevant data from thegeographical data it stores (referring to
the data server if necessary), and thenuploads the data to the Web server in theform of raster images. The Web serveradds other elements, such as a country
selection menu, disaster management
information selection menu, show/hide
toggle button, scale and area
management button, and then maps
these elements and the raster image data
provided by the GIS server onto a

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

D B S er v er

Fig. 2-7-2-2

Process flow of VENTEN

Fig. 2-7-2-3

Top Page of VENTEN

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hypertext file, which is sent to the user.
Moreover, to make the system souser-friendly that even first-time users
can operate it easily, the main page isdesigned to allow the user to jump to
the online manual, tutorials anddatabases (Fig. 2-7-2-3). The system
can also display Normalized Difference
Vegetation Index (NDVI) images, andland elevation map images. Fig.
2-7-2-4 shows the start page of the
VENTEN system.
There are several types of Internet
GIS systems. Some operate withspecialapplication
programs
downloaded by the user, and others
Fig. 2-7-2-4 Start Page of VENTEN
allow only viewing of image
map-based geographical data. The method adopted for the VENTEN system falls between the
two types in terms of functions. In other words, the user can manipulate vector data on the
VENTEN system, but can obtain only raster data based on the vector data. Although thisrestricts data retrieval by the user, the method allows avoidance of the problem of differences in
response between different network environments, and the copyright issues of image data. In
discussions on Internet GIS systems, the central issue is always the network traffic load of datatransmission. As far as the VENTEN system is concerned, this is not so much of a problem.The
VENTEN Web server does not do anything more than just transmit fixed scale images of 470 x
470 pixels to the center of the active window of its client machine. This system needs a longer
time in calculation on the server side than indata transmission, which means that the
network conditions between the VENTEN
Web server and the user terminal unit hardly
affect the efficiency of the VENTEN system.
Of course, only raster data reach the user, but
the system makes it seem to the user thathe/she is directly manipulating a vector data
even though it actually is a raster data.

2) Functions
The VENTEN system has a standard setof GIS functions: "display of selected areasatpreferred
scales","buffering","overlaying," and "search by location andattribute". Fig. 2-7-2-5 shows a buffer area
and the populations of cities in the area. The
buffer has a radius of 50 km with Narita
International Airport at the center. The
names and populations of the cities in thearea are extracted and displayed in the table.
The shortest route analysis function helps
determine the shortest route for evacuation
or transportation of supplies. Morespecifically, when a data extraction process
is performed with the source of the supplies
specified as the starting point S and theaffected zone as the destination E, theshortest route is selected out of many
possible routes and displayed as a bold line
(Figure 2-7-2-6). This function is useful for

Fig. 2-7-2-5 Designation of a 50 km
range from Narita Airport as Buffer on
VENTEN (top) and Results of the
Calculation of Population in the Buffer
Area (bottom)

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determining the shortest route. Used in combination with the buffering function, it alsofunctions as a practical tool for searching detour routes to avoid affected zones.
As described above, the VENTEN system provides only raster data to the user terminal unit,
but it accepts requests from the user to perform various processes on the vector data stored in
the server.

3) Data
The VENTEN GIS database covers the
ADRC member countries (24 countries, as ofthe end of March, 2003). These data are divided
into two main categories: general basic map data
(e.g. topography and natural conditions), which
are not specifically collected for disastermanagement
purposes,anddisastermanagement-related
geographicaldata
containing maps overlayed with disaster
information..
In 2002, basic map data of non-member Asian
countries were incorporated into the VENTEN
database, because it is undesirable that there areareas left with no basic map data, when
Fig. 2-7-2-6 Result of the Shortest Routeconsidering the possibility that a natural disaster
Analysismay occur at a border area between a member
country and a non-member country (see Fig. 2-7-2-7).
① Basic map data
A fixed menu box is provided at the rightbottom of the VENTEN screen to select theShow/Hide option for basic map data.
See Fig. 2-7-2-8 and Tables 2-7-2-1 and
2-7-2-2 for the basic map data available as of
now.

Fig. 2-7-2-7 A screen shot of a basic
map data (top), and an enlarged map
with Vegetation Index image data
overlain on the basic map data(bottom)2. Information Sharing

Fig. 2-7-2-8

Area Covered by VENTEN Basic MAP Data (Dark Areas)2. Information Sharing

Table 2-7-2-1 Basic Geographical Data (Vector Data)

File name

Description

Data structure

AEPOINT

Airports

Point

CLPOINT

Cultural facilities

Point

DNAREA

Rivers (polygon)

PolygonDNLINERivers (line)Line

LCAREA

Land coverage

Polygon

POAREA

Shorelines

PolygonPPPOINTCity names

Point

RDLINE

Roads and streetsLine

RRLINE

Railroads

Line

TSLINE

Transportation facilities (line)Line

TSPOINT

Transportation facilities (point)

Point

Table. 2-7-2-2 Basic Geographical Data (Image Data)
Data structure
Image file name
Description

Shadow image data
Relief(Switchable between the two scalelevels)DEM

Elevation image data

Vegetation July, 1998

Vegetation index image data (Summer)

Vegetation Dec., 1998

Vegetation index image data (Winter)

Raster(approx. 10km
resolution)
Raster(approx. 1km
resolution)
Raster(approx. 10km
resolution)
Raster(approx. 15km
resolution)
Raster(approx. 15km
resolution)② Disaster management geographical data
• Status of Nishinomiya Station and the surrounding blocks affected by the 1995 Great
Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake• Status of affected blocks according to a survey conducted after the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji
Earthquake (source: Building Research Institute, Ministry of Construction, Japan)• Areas affected by Chang Jiang Flood in 1998
• Distribution of active faults (Japan, Eastern region of Nepal, and Sakhalin (Russia))

2-7-2-5. "VENTEN"-related Future Development Plans
1) Basic Map Data
In principle, basic map data currently integrated into the VENTEN system are based on
source maps with a scale of 1:1,000,000. However, the desirable scales for the Geographical
Survey Institute's national basic maps would be 1:50,000 to 1:25,000. To enable practicalapplication of maps to city planning (including disaster preparedness plans), disastermanagement or emergency response activities, their scales should fall within the range between

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1:5,000 and 1:2,500, at least. At present, however, it is impossible to integrate map data into the
VENTEN system at these scales (Few Asian countries have such detailed digital map data, and,from the perspective of disaster reduction, it is impractical to create such map data foruninhabited regions.). When geodetic satellite technology makes it possible to create, update,and disseminate high-resolution GIS data, the VENTEN system should incorporate such data.
The ADRC will continue to upgrade and update geographical data as required.

2) Disaster Management Geographical Data
In Asian countries, data on active fault distribution are extremely important in earthquake
disaster reduction. However, there are many obstacles, such as severe natural environmental
conditions, or economic and technical limitations, to collection of actual data. In cooperation
with researchers of active faults in Japan, the ADRC has been promoting an aerial photographic
database project to realize stereoscopic detection of exposed active faults in some member
countries highly prone to earthquake disasters. This method has the advantage of allowing
detection of potential active faults without the need of on-site geological investigations. Such amacroscopic approach to geological structures helps to avoid local disturbances and detect
active faults that could be left unnoticed in field surveys. The ADRC is investigating how toincorporate data thus collected into the VENTEN system.
It is also necessary to extend GIS data coverage to other kinds of natural disasters such as
tidal waves, floods, volcanoes, landslides and droughts, in addition to earthquakes, with a view
to integrating data the ADRC possesses into databases created by external organizations.
It is also important to incorporate disaster management-related and damage-related
information, such as hazard maps, early warnings, and actual damage data, into public domain
GIS databases accessible through the VENTEN system. There are various maps publicly
available today, but few of them are available in the form of GIS data. The ADRC will launch apilot program to collect data for the integration of hazard maps and other disaster management
data into the VENTEN system.
3) Cooperation with Satellite Data Providers
The ADRC is currently conducting a research project on the construction of a disastermanagement information network utilizing high-speed Internet satellite (WINDS: Wideband
InterNetworking engineering test and Demonstration Satellite), remote sensing and mobile
technologies, in cooperation with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), theCommunications Research Laboratory (CRL) and Diamond Air Service Inc. (DAS). The
purpose of this project is to make it possible to transmit real-time image data from aircraft
equipped with high resolution cameras to the ADRC (or the disaster management headquarters)
when a severe disaster occurs in Asia and other regions, so that the ADRC can disseminate theinformation from its Website to facilitate sharing of the information of the disaster andpromotion of international emergency response activities. It is also considered possible totransmit photographic images captured on-site real-time to distant locations for assessment ofbuilding collapse hazards.
Needless to say, all these visual data should be incorporated into GIS databases, and further
research is necessary to investigate how to incorporate these data into the VENTEN system.
The launch of WINDS is planned for 2005, and another land observation satellite (Advanced
Land Observing Satellite (ALOS)) is scheduled to be launched in 2005. The ADRC is studying
methods of using ALOS data for the VENTEN system. The ALOS project has been promotedwith a view to making contributions to the Global Mapping Project (http://www.iscgm.org).
The ALOS is expected to facilitate global sharing of high-resolution map data.
4) Improvement of User Interfaces and Functions
The current VENTEN system still has some points to be improved in terms ofuser-friendliness: help pages, instruction manuals, and tutorials need further improvements. It
is also necessary to use questionnaires and opportunities such as workshops in order tosystematically identify and incorporate the needs of end-users into the improvement of the
VENTEN system.

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2-7-3. Toward Wider Use of Disaster Management
Internet GIS
The ADRC will closely observe current and future developments in the relevant fields, andseize opportunities to further promote the use of its disaster management Internet GIS in Asia.

2-7-3-1. Creation, Distribution and Use of Hazard Maps
It seems that cities around the world have been becoming more vulnerable to disasters
because of rapid development, urbanization, and population growth since the second half of the20th century. Municipal governments of capitals and major cities of countries in Asia, including
Teheran, Istanbul, Kathmandu, Manila, Ulan Bator, Tokyo, and Yokohama, have preparedestimates of earthquake damage. Flood hazard maps have also been prepared in Asian countries.
As for forest fires, the ASEAN countries, for example, have developed an Internet GIS network
to share hazard data collected using satellite imagery and observation.
It is important to study and implement the methods of integration of hazard maps into city
planning (disaster preparedness), zoning, building standards, and public disaster awarenessraising campaigns from various perspectives including international cooperation, central
government policies, and local community activities. It is not enough that the government
provides hazard maps to citizens. A mechanism should be devised in order to incorporate
citizens' view points into updated data. Equally important are cross-organizational informationexchange among relevant ministries and agencies, cooperation among the public, private,
academic and NGO sectors, and disaster education curricula for schools. A disastermanagement Internet GIS open to anyone is indispensable for all these purposes.
2-7-3-2. Integration of Mobile Telecommunications with Disaster
Management Internet GIS
Mobile phone networks can be developed with a smaller initial investment than fixed
telephone networks. Therefore, mobile phone networks are rapidly expanding in Asian
countries, developing countries in particular. According to some estimates, the world's mobile
phone user population will exceed two billion persons in 2005. There are already manysuccessful cases of transmission of early warnings and disaster emergency information using
wireless telecommunications technologies such as cell-phone short mail services. The ongoing
diffusion of broadband connections will influence the way mobile phones are used. It will
become more common than it is today to use mobile phones for interactive transmission ofimage data in addition to text and voice data.
To display GIS data on the small screen of a mobile phone, it will be necessary to develop
a new data format different from the existing Internet GIS data formats, as well as a whole new
set of data. Therefore, it is likely that mobile phone-based GIS data will first become available
for major cities and surrounding areas. It is also important, in terms of cost effectiveness, todevelop cell phone-based GIS networks as a useful multi-purpose urban IT infrastructure not
only for disaster reduction, but also for daily social life and tourism.
Once they become widely used, cell phones bundled with sophisticated digital camera andGPS functions will provide a powerful Internet tool for semi-realtime GIS data sharing between
affected areas and disaster management headquarters in disaster emergencies. It is also
considered that cell phones will become a useful ubiquitous communications tool for raisingdisaster preparedness awareness among local populations and promoting “participatory
disaster-resistant city planning.”
2-7-3-3. Utilization of Satellite Imagery and Aerial Photography
Satellite image data and aerial photographic data are useful to enable the user to associate
map data with physical geography. The problems are: that these data are expensive, that raw
data need reformatting for integration into GIS databases (data conversion and management),
and that satellite image or aerial photograph data for areas or times of interest are often
unavailable at preferred resolutions.
Recently, there is an increasing number of satellite image and aerial photograph databases

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being created and released as part of international cooperation or as national policies. As of
March 2005, there were 140 countries and regions participating in the “Global Mapping”
project, and the number of countries releasing data reached 20. Though the Project has various
limitations such as small scale maps, vector map data as well as satellite image data are alreadymade available on the Internet. Moreover, the Geographical Survey Institute of Japan has
released a chronological collection of aerial photograph data of the three Japanese metropolitan
areas(Tokyo,Osaka,
andNagoya)(available
inJapanese
only.
http://mapbrowse.gsi.go.jp/airphoto/indexmap_japan.html). A national spatial database createdprimarily with taxpayer's money is a common property of the nation. The Japanese government
should continue taking the initiative in the development of this kind of databases.