PCRAFI CATASTROPHE RISK ASSESSMENT METHODOLOGY

The Pacific Region is one of the most natural disaster prone regions on earth.The Pacific Island Countries (PICs) are highly exposed to the adverse effects of climate
change and natural hazards, which can result in disasters affecting their entire economic,
human, and physical environment and impact their long-term development agenda.
The average annual direct losses caused by natural disasters are estimated at US$284 million.
Since 1950 natural disasters have affected approximately 9.2 million people in the Pacific Region,
causing 9,811 reported deaths. This has cost the PICs around US$3.2 billion (in nominal
terms) in associated damage costs. The Pacific Region is one of the most natural disaster prone regions on earth.
The Pacific Island Countries (PICs) are highly exposed to the adverse effects of climate
change and natural hazards, which can result in disasters affecting their entire economic,
human, and physical environment and impact their long-term development agenda.
The average annual direct losses caused by natural disasters are estimated at US$284 million.
Since 1950 natural disasters have affected approximately 9.2 million people in the Pacific Region,
causing 9,811 reported deaths. This has cost the PICs around US$3.2 billion (in nominal
terms) in associated damage costs.
The primary objective of PCRAFI was to develop risk profiles for earthquakes
(both ground shaking and tsunami) and tropical cyclones (wind and flood due to
precipitation and storm surge) for the following 15 PICs1: Cook Islands (CK), Federated
States of Micronesia (FM), Fiji (FJ), Kiribati (KI), Nauru (NR), Niue (NU), Palau (PW), Papua New
Guinea (PG), Republic of the Marshall Islands (MH), Samoa (WS), Solomon Islands (SB), Timor-
Leste (TL), Tonga (TO), Tuvalu (TV), and Vanuatu (VU).