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Download report(3.17MB PDF)
Foreword
Author's Note
Executive Summary
Introduction
• Atmospheric
Hazards
• Geological Hazards
• Hydrological
Hazards
• Climate Change
Sources & Further reading
| Hazard & Risk Science Review
2006 2. Introduction |
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Each year, thousands of scientific papers addressing natural hazards, the processes and mechanisms that drive them, and their impacts and ramifications, are published in hundreds of journals and e-journals. Many of these papers contain information that is of direct relevance and considerable importance to the insurance market, but which can take several years to filter down from academia to the business world. The Hazard and Risk Science Review is designed to accelerate this process by drawing attention to new and pertinent research results. We present a summary of key publications from 2005 - 2006 with the aim of introducing the reader to current themes in a number of research domains. The summary text is intended to provide an introduction to the original work and its authors, by setting the science in a broader context and showing, where appropriate, its potential relevance to our business. Inevitably the new research addressed in the 2006 issue is only a tiny sample of the enormous amount of relevant material published over the last 12 months, and we do not claim that it is entirely representative of published research over the period. It does, however, highlight studies recommended by Benfield UCL Hazard Research Centre (BUHRC) researchers and consultants that are considered to be particularly relevant to the interests of those involved in catastrophe insurance and reinsurance. The success of the review, launched in September 2004 at the Monte Carlo reinsurance rendezvous, is reflected in the 9,000 copies of the first two issues distributed throughout the market. We confidently expect this third Hazard and Risk Science Review to achieve an even wider circulation and further augment its function as an invaluable resource to the market, through providing a conduit from the arena of academic research to the business world. The Hazard and Risk Science Review is published annually in September, and incorporates research published during the twelve months to the preceding July.This year’s review continues to adopt the straightforward structure developed in the launch issue in 200445, centring on atmospheric, geological and hydrological hazards. Following the most active Atlantic hurricane season on record, and the devastating impact of Hurricane Katrina on the city of New Orleans (figure 1), there is a particular focus on the intense debate over the role global warming might already be playing in an apparent increase, over recent decades, in the numbers of powerful tropical cyclones. The enormous research endeavour devoted to climate change, associated hazards and potential ramifications for the market continues to be reflected in the provision of a separate section devoted to this critical field. A comprehensive bibliography of sources and further reading is provided for the reader who wishes to pursue follow-up investigations. Themes covered within are highlighted at the beginning of each section of the review, with numbered links to the relevant publications in the bibliography.  Figure 1. New Orleans (Louisiana) September 8th 2005. Neighbourhoods and roadways throughout the area remain flooded as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Courtesy: Jocelyn Augustino/FEMA «back to top« |
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