Centre to launch National Disaster Database

NEW DELHI: With an aim to develop a uniform and credible national-level disaster database, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) conducted a two-day national workshop on Data Requirements for Disaster Risk Reduction Database.

The workshop held in collaboration with United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR).

The workshop aimed at developing a consensus among various stakeholders on disasters and thresholds and to develop standardized systems for data collection, updating, and validation to ensure accuracy and quality. Such a database would help track our progress towards achieving the targets of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR).

Once ready, this database would be able to provide real-time disaggregated data. This granular data would lend itself to generating evidence and analyses, which would help plan interventions that build disaster risk resilience.

“It is the first step towards developing a national disaster management information system that can provide real-time information to various stakeholders for relief and rehabilitation response, policy interventions, planning and research for risk-informed development planning,” said Shri R. K. Jain, Member, NDMA.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Yuri Afansiev, United Nations Resident Coordinator, India, emphasized upon the need to understand implications of disasters, especially in a country as vast as India. “There is a need to integrate the proposed database to various development frameworks and goals allowing policymakers to receive reliable information, analyse it and reach conclusions to take policy decisions.”

The technical session on Disaster information and data management system on damage and loss and good practices was chaired by Lt. Gen. N. C. Marwah (Retd.), Member, NDMA. Objectives of setting up such a database as well as the challenges in maintaining and utilizing it were discussed. The session also discussed global experiences and best practices in institutionalizing disaster databases.

The second session on ‘Discussion to record an event as a disaster in DRR database at national and State levels’ was chaired by Shri Kamal Kishore, Member, NDMA. Issues such as data collection templates, data sources, and IT platform for entering, organizing and managing data were discussed during this session.

Officials from NDMA and representatives of concerned Central Ministries and Departments, State Governments, UN agencies, Administrative Training Institutes (ATIs), Disaster Management Institutes and Universities participated in the workshop.