Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) and Its Applications

The Emergency Events Database(EM-DAT)is one of the most important free international database,used widely in international disaster management and research community.This paper introduces the creation and characteristic of EM-DAT database,the criteria,type and content of the data contained at first,including the procedure and method,and some extant questions of this database.Secondly,the applications of the EM-DAT in The Hotspots Indexing Project(Hotspots)and The Disaster Risk Indexing Project(DRI)have been analyzed.Finally,this paper carried on preliminary research on the flood disaster characteristic in Asia during 1976-2005 years on the base of this database.