Introduction

First version 2023.09 of the EM-DAT Documentation.

• EM-DAT Documentation: removed EM-DAT guidelines and replaced them with this new documentation website.
• EM-DAT Public Data: made minor changes in the column names and their styling.
• EM-DAT Public Data: added new column ‘Historic’.
• EM-DAT Public Data: added new column ‘Classification Key’.
• EM-DAT Public Data: added new column ‘Entry Date’.
• EM-DAT Public Data: added new column ‘Last Update’.
• EM-DAT Public Data: removed column ‘Year’. Use ‘Start Year’ instead.
• EM-DAT Public Data: removed column ‘Seq’. Sequential number can be retrieved from the ‘DisNo.’ column instead.
• EM-DAT Public Data: removed column ‘Disaster Subsubtype’. Use the new 4-level classification tree instead.
• EM-DAT Public Data: replaced ‘Glide’ column with ‘External IDs’.
• EM-DAT Public Data: replaced column ‘Continent’ with the ‘Region’ column based on UN M49 standard.
• EM-DAT Public Data: replaced column ‘Region’ with the ‘Subregion’ column based on UN M49 standard.
• EM-DAT Public Data: replaced the two columns ‘Associated Dis’ and ‘Associated Dis2’ with one column ‘Associated Types’. The new column can store an unlimited number of associated types.
• EM-DAT Public Data: replaced columns ‘Adm Level’, ‘Admin1 Code’, ‘Admin2 Code’, and ‘Geo Locations’ with one single column ‘Admin Units’ with JSON entries.
• EM-DAT Public Data: columns ‘OFDA Response’, ‘Appeal’, and ‘Declaration’ are now strictly binary (either ‘Yes’ or ‘No’).
• EM-DAT Public Data: reviewed and made minor corrections to the data content during the documentation process.

Minor update of the EM-DAT Documentation.

• EM-DAT Documentation: updated highlighted publications.
• EM-DAT Documentation: edited ‘Admin Units’ column description.
• EM-DAT Documentation: edited and added a reference in the ‘Known Issues’ section.
• EM-DAT Documentation: added a column ‘classif key’ in the table description of the main classification system.

Minor update of the EM-DAT Documentation.

• EM-DAT Documentation: corrected classification for inconsistencies in Mass Movement (dry) and Mass Movement (wet) children subtypes.
• EM-DAT Documentation: added notice of complex disasters removal in the classification and database.
• EM-DAT Documentation: added link to the last version of the previous public table in the previous portal layout, including removed complex disasters.
• EM-DAT Documentation: updated the protocols to reflect the weekly rate of updates of the public table.

Preprint on the EM-DAT Database available, one column name change and minor changes.

• EM-DAT Documentation: added preprint citation in “How to Cite?”
• EM-DAT Documentation and Public Table: renamed the column OFDA Response to OFDA/BHA Response, with updates in the related documentation.
• EM-DAT Documentation: added more references to the legacy public table.

Python Tutorials made available and minor changes in external resources.

• EM-DAT Documentation: added 2 Python Tutorials in the “External Resources and Tutorials” section.
• EM-DAT Documentation: removed tidyDisasters from the external resources as the package is not maintained and has been removed from CRAN.
• EM-DAT Documentation: removed broken link referring to UN Second-Administrative Level Boundaries (SLAB) program.

Minor changes in tutorials, changes in disaster magnitude scales.

• EM-DAT Documentation: minor changes in Python Tutorial 1.
• EM-DAT Documentation: clarification of the meaning of empty cells in public table.
• EM-DAT Documentation: additional citation in the Time Bias section.
• EM-DAT Documentation: note on imputation added to the list of external resources.
• EM-DAT Database and Documentation: switching from Richter to Moment Magnitude.

Minor changes in external resources.

• EM-DAT Documentation: added EM-VIEW in the External Resources section.

Update in legal texts, minor fixes.

• EM-DAT Legal Texts: corrected Belgian law inconsistency.
• EM-DAT Documentation: fixed various typos and broken links.

Added reference and EM-DAT Archive.

• EM-DAT Documentation: added Tonnelier et al. 2025 to the Highlighted Publications (Introduction).
• EM-DAT Documentation: added the EM-DAT Archive data in the Data Accessibility section.

Highlighted Publications and additional External IDs (HANZE).

• EM-DAT Documentation: updated Highlighted Publications.
• EM-DAT Documentation and Public Table: added HANZE to the External IDs column.

Updated broken links

• EM-DAT Documentation: updated broken links for OECD CPI in Economic Adjustment.

Legal Terms, Citation Policy, minor changes regarding the end of the USAID funding.

• EM-DAT Terms, License and Documentation: updated legal texts.
• EM-DAT Documentation: added “EM-DAT Attribution and Citation Policy” in the Legal Texts section.
• EM-DAT Documentation: adaptation of the contents relative to the end of the USAID funding.

Minor clarification regarding “Associated Types”

• EM-DAT Documentation: removed faulty mentions of the old column name Associated Dis, changed to Associated Types.

GAUL to GADM Migration

• EM-DAT Database and Documentation: added GADM Admin Units in the public table.
• EM-DAT Documentation: documented GAUL to GADM Migration in Spatial Information and Geocoding.
• EM-DAT Documentation: added a new reference to the External Resources page.
• EM-DAT Documentation and Database: highlighted field deprecation for OFDA/BHA Response, AID Contribution (‘000 US$) and Admin Units.

Updates based on the EM-DAT Archive 2.0, new Additional Resources and FAQ, and consistency improvements.

• EM-DAT Documentation: updated figures, statistics, and classification counts using the EM-DAT Archive 2.0 (Specific Biases, Disaster Classification System), and documented the exact Magnitude Scale values.
• EM-DAT Documentation: renamed External Resources to Additional Resources, now listing the EM-DAT Archive versions, EM-TEST, new EM-DAT-derived datasets, and other disaster occurrence and loss datasets.
• EM-DAT Documentation: reworked the Introduction and replaced the FAQ with a new, extended version.
• EM-DAT Documentation: updated the About pages (end of the USAID funding, advisory bodies, and Ways to Contribute).
• EM-DAT Documentation: standardized references (APA 7) and terminology, aligned geocoding references with GADM, renamed the Complex and Technological Hazards glossary page to Technological Hazards, and fixed broken links, typos, and minor inconsistencies.