Exposing and then tackling risk is critical, given that global disaster losses have swollen to US$520 billion a year – considered a conservative estimate –  owing to factors including climate change, rapid urbanisation and the expected growth of risk-exposed assets. This growth in risky investments is often due to a lack of adequately costing disaster risk, coupled with high profit margins for investments in many areas exposed to earthquakes, tsunamis, storm surges, floods and other hazards.

That makes it important to spotlight the consequences of risk-stoking decisions, whether by businesses or the authorities, in order to help protect communities around the globe.

“One of our jobs is to disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed,” said Mr. Maskrey.

Tackling risk at source is the primary goal of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, a 15-year agreement adopted by the international community in 2015.

The GAR Atlas builds on the Global Risk Model (GRM) developed by UNISDR and its partners over the years. It uses the robust metrics developed by the international modeling team, such Average Annual Loss (AAL) and Probable Maximum Loss (PML), both of which enable detailed snapshots of risk according to time and place.

“This takes into account events that have not yet occurred, and not just historical events,” said Mr. Omar Dario Cardona, a National University of Colombia expert in computational economics, risk management and insurance, and macroeconomics, who has been a key player in developing the GRM. “Risk assessment is the key to awareness, but also highlights the responsibilities of decision-makers,” he said.

Date:

25 May 2017

Sources:

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR)

Themes:

Risk Identification & Assessment, Disaster Risk Management

Hazards:

Cyclone, Earthquake, Flood, Storm Surge, Tsunami