Page 6 - Snapshot83

Basic HTML Version

Pacific Catastrophe Risk Assessment
and Hnancn
nitiative (PCRAFI)
-
Phase 3
The Pacific Catastrophe Risk Assessment and Financing Initiative (PCRAFI) has provided Pacific Island Countries
(PICs) with disaster risk assessment tools. These have been developed with the financial and technical
assistance of a number of partner agencies such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, AIR Worldwide,
GNS Science New Zealand and Pacific Disaster Center working with SPC -SOPAC over a 2 year period from
2010. Since then a number of applications have been developed and rolled out in Phase 3. These include
the establishment of the online Pacific Risk Information System, protocols for rapid post disaster damage
estimations, a feasibility study to establish a catastrophe risk insurance pool and guidelines for urban planners.
The Pacific Risk Information System contains detailed, country- specific information on assets, population,
hazards, and risks; a comprehensive regional historical hazard catalogue and historical loss database for major
disasters, country- specific hazard models that simulate earthquakes (both ground shaking and tsunamis) and
tropical cyclones (wind, storm surge, and excess rainfall) and risk maps showing the geographic distribution of
potential losses for each country. These deliverables provide the basis for a number disaster risk assessment
applications and are available via the online Pacific Risk Information System perafi.sopac.org.
In December 2012, the first rapid post- disaster damage estimation was calculated for Samoa and Fiji following
Tropical Cyclone Evan providing an initial loss calculation for areas affected. Discussions to improve the service
and the underlying information have been had between the partners involved and further collaborations are
still required in the coming year. This service provides the loss calculations required to determine whether or
not countries involved in the Pacific Catastrophe Risk Insurance Pilot are eligible for a pay -out.
On January 17, 2013, the Pacific Catastrophe Risk Insurance Pilot was launched as part of the Pacific Disaster
Risk Financing and Insurance Programme. The 2 -year pilot, with funding support from the Government of
Japan, will test the feasibility of establishing a catastrophe risk pool in the Pacific. The 5 pilot countries are
Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu.
Rapid urbanisation in the Pacific has resulted in settlements and development in hazardous locations. The Asian
Development Bank, UNHABITAT, SPC -SOPAC and key urban planning agencies will collaborate on developing
tools using PCRAFI to help integrate climate and disaster risk information into urban and infrastructure planning
processes.
J
GNS
\AIR WORLDWIDE
SPC CPS
ADB
SACIMAIIIAT OF TIN PACIFIC COMMUNITY
6