The importance of a good database

Citation

Levinson, D.J. and Amar, S. (1999), "The importance of a good database", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 8 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/dpm.1999.07308dab.001

The importance of a good database

The importance of a good database

Keywords: Natural hazards, Databases

Most people are familiar with statistics such as "It was a one in one hundred year event". The reason that these claims are possible is because someone, somewhere, has managed to collect data about the range of events over a period of time. In recent years, there has been a huge move towards collating such data into progressively more sophisticated databases.

The Natural Hazards Research Centre has been responsible for the development of a large array of databases on a variety of natural hazards. Over the years, our databases have progressed from simple "flat" databases (i.e. a spreadsheet) to more complicated "relational" databases. Relational databases allow data to be broken down into several tables, which then have either a one-to-one or one-to-many relationship with each other. This means that more complex data can be entered, less repetition of data is necessary and it is easier to ask questions of the database.

The NHRC is now moving towards integrating all our separate databases into one large Natural Hazards Database, which will be housed in Microsoft Access. We have thought a lot about the type of information which is relevant in a natural hazard database in terms of present uses and possible future uses, and the best way to structure this information in order to maximise data consistency as well as retaining sufficient information. Integrating so many separate databases, all of different vintages and developed for different purposes in a variety of software packages, is a challenge, but it will be worth it in the end.

The new Natural Hazards Database will provide information about an event - say Cyclone Rona - the locations affected by the event, the damage at those locations, the number of people who died at each location, the physical characteristics of the event, causes, associated hazards and a list of references used in the compilation of the record. This will facilitate comparison of data between different natural hazards, as well as ensuring the (hopefully) comprehensive entry of information about future natural hazard events.

Our experience in natural hazard database development has highlighted a couple of issues. Firstly, it is essential to think about the purpose of the database. While this seems obvious, it is remarkable how often it can be overlooked in this information age when everyone wants to collect data. Secondly, the structure of the database is of primary importance - get this right from the beginning and life is much easier! And finally, it is vital to include Metadata. This is data about the data, and can include information from confidence levels to the source of the data. The inclusion of Metadata means that not only are we able to estimate the one in one hundred year event, but we can be reasonably sure of how accurate the estimation is!

The Natural Hazards Database will contain information about bush fires, landslides, earthquakes, floods, tropical cyclones, hail storms, lightning, windstorms and tsunamis. Most of the data will be incorporated into a GIS based CD-ROM which will be available for distribution in mid 1999.

For further information please contact: Kylie Andrews. Tel: +61-2-9850 9473; Fax: +61-2-9850 9394; E-mail: kandrews@laurel.ocs.mq.edu.au