As part of the ongoing "Building a Disaster Resilient Quezon City Project" which is a joint undertaking of the Quezon City Government (QCG) and Earthquakes and Megacities Initiative (EMI), an Orientation Workshop on the Disaster Risk Geo-spatial (DRGS) Database Development was conducted on January 14, 2013 at the Training Room of the City Personnel's Office, Quezon City Hall. The workshop was attended by 53 participants who were also identified as part of the Technical Working Group (TWG) of the Project.

Through the workshop, the members of the Project Technical Working Group (TWG) put together a plan to develop the Disaster Risk Geo-spatial Database of Quezon City.  The activity was lead by Mr. Leigh Lingad, EMI GIS Specialist.

The Bangladesh Urban Earthquake Resilience Project local team spearheaded by the Deputy Team Leader, Prof.  Mehedi Ansary has initiated a joint focus group workshop on the current status of earthquake related activities undertaken by different agencies in the country.

The workshop will be conducted on January 31, 2013 at the World Bank Office in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Around 50 to 80 people from the Ministry of Disaster Management (MDM), Department of Disaster Management (DDM), Dhaka City Corporation (DCC), Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) and other Life Line  Agencies are expected to participate and share their current efforts related to earthquake, including human resource/capacity development plan and their contingency plan.

This initiative is just one of the activities lined up in support to the Government of Bangladesh in the development of a national strategy and investment plan to reduce earthquake risk in the country.

The Natural Disaster Risk Managment Program of Earthquake and Megacities Initiative opened its first online class for the year with the Climate Change and Disaster Risk (CCDR) course on January 28. 

Climate Change and Disaster Risk is an introductory course to the science of climate change by exploring the linkage between disaster risk management and climate change adaptation, and outlines strategies, methods and tools for integrated climate risk management.

The course has 33 registered students from different international organizations with focus on migration, anti-poverty and humanitarian work.

Meanwhile, EMI is now accepting students for the Comprehensive Disaster Risk Managament Framework (CDRMF) course which is scheduled to start on February 18. The CDRMF online course serves as the pre-requisite for other specialized courses offered by the EMI.

For more information, please contact Mr. Jesus Dominic Dizon, Program Coordinator at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Click HERE to register.

CDRMF Course Brochure