GAR 2015 Main Report

While flood risk should be managed through prospective measures such as land-use planning, the continued industrial, commercial and residential development on floodplains, together with climate change, has made flooding a very dynamic risk. Corrective measures such as flood defences can protect against losses up to a certain threshold, and countries like Japan and the Netherlands have made major investments in flood protection. However, flood defences may encourage further development on floodplains, leading to devastating consequences if a low-frequency but high-severity loss above the protection threshold were to occur. In contrast, flood risk in low-income countries often reflects a lack of capacity to invest in flood protection.

As the 2011 Chao Phraya River floods in Thailand demonstrated, flooding may produce major correlated losses that equal those arising from earthquakes or tropical cyclones. The Thailand floods

also revealed the risk to global supply chains when industries are concentrated on floodplains (UNISDR, 2013a

UNISDR. 2013a,Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction: From Shared Risk to Shared Value: the Business Case for Disaster Risk Reduction, Geneva, Switzerland: UNISDR.. .

; CEO Risk Forum, 2012

CEO Risk Forum. 2012,CEO Risk Forum, Spring 2012.. .

). A recent analysis of “hidden hotspots” in emerging markets revealed that other countries in the world present an even greater flood loss potential than Thailand (Swiss Re, 2012

Swiss Re. 2012,Flood – an underestimated risk: Inspect, inform, insure, Zurich.. .

): China tops the ranking, followed by Brazil, Russia and India (Figure 3.19).

Floods also cause major losses in high-income countries. While the average annual economic damage from floods in the United Kingdom, for example, is in the range of US$250 million (Penning-Rowsell, 2014

Penning-Rowsell, Edmund C. 2014,A realistic assessment of fluvial and coastal flood risk in England and Wales, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, Vol. 40. Issue 1: 44-61 (published online: March 2014).. .

), the United Kingdom saw the second wettest year on record in 2012 (second only to 2007), with flood-related losses reaching approximately US$1.8 billion. The RMS UK Inland Flood Model estimated that nearly half of the UK’s expected average annual flood loss comes from major river flooding, and the remainder is attributed to small river and stream flooding, flash

(Source: UNISDR with data from Global Risk Assessment and the World Bank.)

Figure 3.18 Top 15 countries: Tsunami PML500 in relation to capital stock

	71 While flood risk should be managed through prospective measures such as land-use planning, the continued industrial, commercial and residential development on floodplains, together with climate change, has made flooding a very dynamic risk. Corrective measures such as flood defences can protect against losses up to a certain threshold, and countries like Japan and the Netherlands have made major investments in flood protection. However, flood defences may encourage further development on floodplains, leading to devastating consequences if a low-frequency but high-severity loss above the protection threshold were to occur. In contrast, flood risk in low-income countries often reflects a lack of capacity to invest in flood protection. As the 2011 Chao Phraya River floods in Thailand demonstrated, flooding may produce major correlated losses that equal those arising from earthquakes or tropical cyclones. The Thailand floods also revealed the risk to global supply chains when industries are concentrated on floodplains (UNISDR, 2013a x UNISDR. 2013a,Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction: From Shared Risk to Shared Value: the Business Case for Disaster Risk Reduction, Geneva, Switzerland: UNISDR.. . ; CEO Risk Forum, 2012 x CEO Risk Forum. 2012,CEO Risk Forum, Spring 2012.. . ). A recent analysis of “hidden hotspots” in emerging markets revealed that other countries in the world present an even greater flood loss potential than Thailand (Swiss Re, 2012 x Swiss Re. 2012,Flood – an underestimated risk: Inspect, inform, insure, Zurich.. . ): China tops the ranking, followed by Brazil, Russia and India (Figure 3.19). Floods also cause major losses in high-income countries. While the average annual economic damage from floods in the United Kingdom, for example, is in the range of US$250 million (Penning-Rowsell, 2014 x Penning-Rowsell, Edmund C. 2014,A realistic assessment of fluvial and coastal flood risk in England and Wales, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, Vol. 40. Issue 1: 44-61 (published online: March 2014).. . ), the United Kingdom saw the second wettest year on record in 2012 (second only to 2007), with flood-related losses reaching approximately US$1.8 billion. The RMS UK Inland Flood Model estimated that nearly half of the UK’s expected average annual flood loss comes from major river flooding, and the remainder is attributed to small river and stream flooding, flash (Source: UNISDR with data from Global Risk Assessment and the World Bank.) Figure 3.18 Top 15 countries: Tsunami PML500 in relation to capital stock	Page 1 Page 10 Page 20 Page 30 Page 40 Page 50 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 ->Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 90 Page 100 Page 110 Page 120 Page 130 Page 140 Page 150 Page 160 Page 170 Page 180 Page 190 Page 200 Page 210 Page 220 Page 230 Page 240 Page 250 Page 260 Page 270 Page 280 Page 290 Page 300 Page 310