FLOOD03743

• County: Statewide
• Basin: Statewide
• Title: 25th Annual Celebration Hazards Research and Applications Workshop
• Date: 7/9/2000
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Educational/Technical/Reference Information

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PSQQ-13

Caroline Michellier
Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED)
Universitl! Catholique de Louvain
30.94 Clos Chapelle-aux-Champs
1200 Brussels, Belgium
tel: [phone]
fax: [phone]
e-mail: [e-mail]

EM-DA T: The OFDAlCRED International Disaster Database

Introduction

Since 1988, the WHO ColIaborating Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) has
been maintaining an Emergency Events Database - EM-DAT. EM-DAT was created with the initial
support of the WHO and the Belgian Government as a tool to rationaIise decision making for disaster
preparedness, as well as providing an objective base for vulnerability assessment and priority setting.

EMDA T contains essential core data on the occurrence and effects of over 12,000 mass disasters in the
world from 1900 to present. The database, which is daily updated, is compiled from various sources (UN
agencies, IFRC, insurance companies, research institutes and press agencies). The data contained in
EMDA T include: date, disaster type, country, region, deaths, affected population, estimate of damage and
additional infonnation.

Context and basic principles of the database

At a very fundamental level, knowledge of the vulnerability of developing countries to different types of
disasters is necessary for the most effective relief and preparedness planning. The usefulness of a disaster
events database as a tool in this planning has become increasingly evident to many government and
international agencies engaged in disaster relief as well as in mitigation and prevention programmes.

Establishing a central database on all disaster events occurring in the world is an effort, which requires first
of all, the data items to be included in the register. To be workable, these definitions have to be kept simple
and concrete to allow easy collection of these data by field assessment teams. Standard procedures for the
collection and reporting of these data also have to be worked out between all participants to this effort. In
order to remain a manageable enterprise, the scope of this central database has to be limited only to
essential data and agency specific infonnation may be maintained as supplement to this core database.

The New OFDAlCRED Initiative

In January 1999 a new initiative between OFDA and CRED began. The aim was to complete the EM-DA T
database and validate its contents. It was also decided to place the database on a dedicated Web site on the
Internet - to provide all users a reliable source of disaster related data for all countries. The web site
address is: http://www.cred.be

The site provides data on disasters by country and their human and economic impacts, as well as maps,
graphs and tables that can be downloaded for use in presentations, scientific publications or newsletters.