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Pacific Disaster Net and Information Management (IM) for DRM

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Pacific Disaster Net Pacific Disaster Net

Pacific Disaster Net (PDN - http://www.pacificdisaster.net) is the DRM web portal for the Pacific.  It is designed to become the largest and most comprehensive information resource in relation to disaster risk management in the Pacific. Launched on the 18th September 2008 in Suva, the PDN was developed by SOPAC, IFRC, UNDP-Pacific Centre and UNOCHA as an initiative of the Pacific Disaster Risk Management Partnership Network.

Interactive Google maps are used and live CAP (Common Alert Protocol) Alerts are provided in near real time by the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System.

Current and live information in a range of formats and from different sources covers Documents (more than 4700), Events (more than 1200), Contacts (more than 500), Calendar (more than 300 entries) and Audio-Visual Media with Country Pages, Forum and Wiki for Governance, Risk Assessment, Early Warning and Monitoring, Disaster Risk Management, Training and Tools (status 06/2010).

The information is available on-line and through an off-line version. The Pacific Disaster Net Local Edition on DVD allows a much wider outreach particularly for communities without Internet access.

Selected country missions are planned in 2010 to create awareness, conduct training and collate relevant national data and information.

In meeting the needs of our member countries, territories and the partners we work with, additional information management support for specific events like the Samoa / Tonga Tsunami of September 2009, Tropical Cyclone Mick in Fiji in December 2009, Tropical Cyclone Tomas in Fiji in March2010 and ongoing activity with both the Gaua and Yasur volcanoes in Vanuatu, have been made available on an alternate site for easy access – please click here (http://pdn.appspot.com/) .

As the PDN has matured and the need for improved information management for DRM, more systems have been developed to support capacity development. These include:

RFA MonitorRFA Monitor

The on-line monitor (http://www.pacificdisaster.net/rfa/) was developed by SOPAC to facilitate reporting by Member countries against national implementation of the Pacific DRR and DM Framework for Action 2005 – 2015 and the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005 - 2015. It is designed as a self evaluation of progress against each of the “national activities” under the respective themes. Each country is requested to self evaluate performance or progress against a range of activities aligned with the thematic areas of the Frameworks.

 

pc portalProjects and Capacities Portal

The Projects and Capacities portal for the Pacific DRM Partnership Network (http://www.pdrmpn.net/pdrmpn/) was developed to map “who does what and where”.  It hosts information about partners – their capabilities in support of the implementation of the Pacific DRR and DM Framework for Action 2005 - 2015  and hosts a stock take of their DRM activities and projects in the Pacific region.

 

The projects for the Pacific have been transferred to and updated in a new system – the Disaster Risk Reduction Projects Portal (DRR PP – online available under http://www.drrprojects.net).

drr ppThe portal improves information sharing on past, ongoing and planned DRR initiatives from 2005 onwards in Asia and the Pacific region. It facilitates better coordination and programme planning by regional stakeholders, enhances the use of resources, reduces duplication, shares lessons learned and identifies gaps in DRR efforts in the region. It is hosted by the Asia Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) as executing agency for the ADB Technical Assistance – Regional Stock Take and Mapping of DRR Interventions in Asia and the Pacific, established under the UNISDR Asia Partnership (IAP) with SOPAC (now the Applied Geoscience & Technology Division of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community) as the Pacific focal point.

 

Strengthening Disaster Information Management Systems – Fiji Pilot

A range of regional and international humanitarian organisations and development partners are working with the Fiji Government to strengthen pre-, during and post-disaster information management systems in Fiji through a multi-stakeholder and multi-cluster approach to support decision making for improved disaster response and reduced disaster risk. The objectives of the proposed project (a pilot for the Pacific region) for which endorsement of the Fiji National Disaster Management Council had been obtained are as follows.

  • To  have  relevant  and  timely  and  consistent  baseline  data  available  for  disaster  preparedness  and  response as well as for risk reduction and mitigation, for the use of multiple stakeholders.
  • To develop an agreed methodology and capacity for rapid multi-cluster needs assessment and in-depth  cluster needs assessments following natural disasters.
  • To develop tools and procedures that would guide the management of information during response operations and for the planning of disaster reduction measures.

The targeted end users of information generated by the above are disaster risk managers, humanitarian workers and other decision makers in national and local government (National Disaster Management Council members, heads of departments, Divisional Commissioners), regional partners, the Red Cross and UN organisations, and NGOs that plan and programme for humanitarian response, recovery, mitigation and/or risk reduction initiatives.

The project builds on existing experience and practice and links with ongoing and planned initiatives to strengthen national and local/community DRM arrangements in Fiji. Several partners, including the Fiji Red Cross, IFRC, UNISDR, SOPAC, UNOCHA, TAF/OFDA, UNDP, UNFPA and UNICEF are providing technical and financial support for the project.

Future plans in relation to the PDN and Information Management include the development of websites for the National Disaster Management Offices and National Disaster Observatories which would host historical data and information in relation to disaster events such as the information on the costs of disasters. Vanuatu is the first country for which the has been developed.  The Solomon Islands is shortly to commence a similar project along these lines.

For more information contact

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Adviser Information & Database Management / PDN Team Leader

 

Sereima Kalouniviti

Researcher

Last Updated on Thursday, 05 February 2015 07:17  


Newsflash

Mr Benjamin Shing, Director of Vanuatu’s Department of Finance and Economic Management (MFEM) said he had been “impressed and surprised” by the presentation made by SOPAC at the Forum Economic Ministers Meeting, held in the Cook Islands in October 2009.

He said that this presentation on the Economic Impact of Disasters had shown him “…how deep the impacts of a disaster can be felt in the small island economies of the Pacific.”