Universal standards for disaster statistics planned by 2016

The Expert Group's plan was set after the first meeting in Sendai, Japan. Running from October 27 to October 29, the meeting was organised by the  United  Nations  Economic  and Social Commission for Asia (ESCAP), the Tohoku  University  and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in collaboration  with  the  Government of Japan and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR).

Concerned by the frequency of natural disasters occurring  in  the  region,  the  experts agreed on the core principles for establishing a common basic range of disaster-related statistics.

In his opening remarks, Kilaparti Ramakrishna, Director of ESCAP’s East and  North-East  Asia  Office  (Escap-ENEA) said: "With climate change, the frequency and severity of extreme weather events are expected to rise. This means,  there  is a tremendous need for better disaster risk management for society and the environment."

The Expert Group agreed that the region needs statistical standards on  the occurrence and impacts of disasters suitable for the region, given the fact over  the  past  three  decades,  almost 1.2 million people in Asia and the Pacific  have lost their lives to disasters. 

Efforts to manage disaster risks  in  Asia  and the Pacific, as well as in the rest of the world, have long  been  hampered  by  the  lack  of  timely,  reliable,  and comparable statistics, mainly due to the absence of common standards.

“The success of the  post-2015  sustainable  development  agenda highly depends on disaster risk  reduction.  Previous  development  gains, particularly in low income countries, are often rolled back due to natural disasters,” said Shamika  Sirimanne, director of Escap’s Information and Communications Technology and Disaster Risk Reduction Division.

Earlier  this  year, governments of the region decided to act to close this gap and established the Expert Group on Disaster-related Statistics in Asia and  the  Pacific.  Developing  a  set of common standards would allow more precise   risk  assessment  across  the  region  and  help  governments  in evidence-based   policymaking   which   provides   the  right  support  and infrastructure to manage the risks of disasters.

“Without  statistical standards, governments can only infer but  have  no  way to determine with certainty the extent to which disaster events inflict damage and losses to the hard-earned fruit of development in their countries,” noted Professor  Susumu  Satomi,  president of Tohoku University, highlighting the importance of internationally agreed standards for official statistics.