[Geology2] Mind The Risk: A Global Ranking Of Cities Under Threat From Natural Disasters

For the first time in human history more people live in cities than in rural areas. The United Nations expects 6.3 billion people or 68% of

the world’s population to be living in urban areas by 2050, with the

highest increase occurring in high growth markets. Many of these

cities are located on the coast and are threatened by floods, storms,

earthquakes and other natural hazards.

The vibrancy of these citiesis a key driver for economic development. However, the growing concentration of people, assets and infrastructure also means that the loss potential in urban areas is high and rising. At the same time the gap between economic and insured losses is large because insurance penetration is relatively low and city infrastructure often not insured at all. Another reason is that the risk exposure faced by the world’s metropolitan areas remains underexplored, largely due to the lack of detailed hazard information and poor data quality.

This publication seeks to address this knowledge deficit by providing a

comprehensive analysis of natural disaster risk in locations around

the world. Based on Swiss Re’s risk modelling expertise and the

latest hazard information from our CatNet® tool, it focuses on the

most severe natural disasters confronting 616 of the world’s largest

urban areas and assesses the potential impact they have on local

residents and the wider economy.

We know from past events that physical prevention measures alone do not suffice to build a resilient city, since damage from the most severe catastrophes cannot be fully averted. An important part of resilience is how well urban societies are able to cope with the financial consequences of a disaster, which includes access to the requisite funding for relief, recovery and reconstruction. Swiss Re

can offer risk transfer solutions that help bridge the gap between

economic and insured losses and reduce the financial burden on

local communities.

We hope the findings of this study will give fresh impetus to the

global debate about strengthening the resilience of cities and

encourage governments, citizens and the insurance industry

to take collective action to mitigate the risks faced by urban

communities around the world

This is fascinating and well-produced so read the entire document which is a PDF:

http://media.swissre.com/documents/Swiss_Re_Mind_the_risk.pdf

--
Check out http://groups.yahoo.com/group/californiadisasters/
Read my blog at http://eclecticarcania.blogspot.com/
My Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/derkimster
Linkedin profile: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/kim-noyes/9/3a1/2b8
Follow me on Twitter @DisasterKim

__._,_.___

Visit Your Group

• Privacy • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use