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The economics of disaster risks and impacts in the Pacific

Christopher Edmonds (Institute of International Strategy, Tokyo International University, Kawagoe, Japan)
Ilan Noy (Victoria Business School, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand)

Disaster Prevention and Management

ISSN: 0965-3562

Article publication date: 24 August 2018

Issue publication date: 16 October 2018

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Abstract

Purpose

The Pacific islands face the highest disaster risk globally in per capita terms. Countries in the region have been affected by several recent catastrophic events, as well as by frequent natural hazards of smaller magnitude. The purpose of this paper is to quantify total disaster risk faced by Pacific island countries (PICs).

Design/methodology/approach

The paper evaluates the three main sources of data for quantifying risk in the region—the International Emergency Database (EMDAT), DesInventar and the Pacific Catastrophe Risk Assessment and Financing Initiative, evaluating the information available on indirect disaster impacts and their likely impacts on poverty and well-being.

Findings

The analysis suggests that the three available data sets contain inconsistencies and underestimate disaster risk, especially for atoll nations. It also identifies four trends with respect to changes in natural hazards that result from climate change and are likely to have the greatest long-term impact on Pacific islands. Focusing on Tuvalu, the paper also quantifies the likely consequence of some of the possible interventions that aim to reduce those impacts.

Practical implications

The paper’s main conclusion is that improving the systematic collection of quantitative data on disaster events should be a basic first step in improving future policy decisions concerning resource allocation and efforts to insure losses from future disasters and climate change.

Originality/value

While a lot of research explored disaster risk in PICs, comparative analysis of quantitative information on disasters across the diverse countries of the region is limited.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Tauisi Taupo, Adrien Vogt-Schilb, Mook Bangalore and Stephane Hallegatte for assistance in modeling welfare impacts of disasters in Tuvalu. The authors also wish to thank David Abbott, Charlotte Benson, Litea Biukoto, Cristina Casella, Christian Ellerman, Norense Iyahen, Julio Serje, Mosese Sikivou, Isikeli Voceduadua, the referees and the editor for helpful conversations, comments and insights that informed this paper.

Citation

Edmonds, C. and Noy, I. (2018), "The economics of disaster risks and impacts in the Pacific", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 27 No. 5, pp. 478-494. https://doi.org/10.1108/DPM-02-2018-0057

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited

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