SOPAC will host the second project meeting on a joint initiative by the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and SOPAC on Pacific Catastrophe Risk Assessment and Financing.

The purpose of the meeting is to review progress in collecting building, infrastructure, population and crop data to determine the level of risk faced by Pacific island countries.

Scientists at the meeting will review the research and modeling into the impact of disasters, including tropical cyclones, earthquakes, and tsunami in the Pacific Islands.

Participants will also discuss ways in which this information can be made accessible to decision and policy makers to help reduce the risk of disasters in the Pacific Island countries.

The importance of sustaining the initiative beyond the lifetime of the project will also be addressed.

The meeting will be attended by the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, GNS Science (New Zealand), AIR Worldwide (US), Pacific Disaster Centre (US) and SOPAC, all project partners.