Asia is, yet again, the victim of a natural catastrophe — this time in the form of two earthquakes.
A magnitude 7.6 earthquake hit the Indian Ocean in the early morning hours, prompting a tsunami watch that has now been lifted. Then, at 5:07 a.m. a magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck about 90 miles southwest of Tokyo, killing at least one and injuring close to 100.
This comes on the heels of Typhoon Morakot, which produced deadly mudslides in China and Taiwan that have left hundreds of residents unaccounted for.
In Pengxi, a mountain-ringed town in coastal China about 270 miles southwest of Shanghai, a landslide buried six four-story apartment buildings as residents slept at 10:30 p.m. Monday, local time. Rescuers pulled four survivors and two bodies from the debris, but were unable to say how many others were missing.
As if that wasn’t enough for Asia, Japan is still reeling from the effects of Typhoon Etau, which struck the country’s west coast on Monday, killing 13 and leaving 10 others missing.
Asia is no stranger to natural catastrophes. The Insurance Information Institute lists the ten deadliest world catastrophes in 2008, with a concentration of them in Asia.
- May 2 Myanmar (Burma), Bay of Bengal Cyclone Nargis devastates Irrawaddy and Yangon Divisions; floods (deaths: 138,373)
- May 12 China Sichuan Earthquake (magnitude 7.9), aftershocks (deaths: 87,449)
- Jun. 19 Philippines, China, South China Sea Typhoon Fengshen/No. 6, winds up to 140 km/h, heavy rain (deaths: 1,413)
- Jan. 5 Afghanistan Heavy snowfall (deaths: 1,300)
- Jun. 10 India Floods caused by monsoon rain (deaths: 950)
- Sep. 1 Haiti, Turks and Caicos Island et al. Hurricane Hanna, winds up to 130 km/h, floods (deaths: 500)
- Nov. 28 Nigeria Clashes over disputed election results (deaths: 300)
- Oct. 29 Pakistan Earthquake (magnitude 6.4), aftershock (magnitude 6.2) (deaths: 300)
- Dec. 18 Bay of Bengal, Myanmar (Burma) Boats carrying illegal immigrants disappear (deaths: 275)
- Sep. 8 China Mudslide causes dam to burst at Tashan ore mine (deaths: 271)
As a 2009 SwissRe report states:
Many governments in Asia face significant financial risks when catastrophes occur. Given the rapid development of income and wealth in Asia, the financial exposures will swiftly rise. This is likely to increase the focus on prevention and ex-post disaster management. It will also give rise to the development of insurance as a tool to cope with the financial consequences of catastrophes. It is expected therefore, that in Asia, insurance will play a more important role in the future than it does today.
It is evident that Asia’s need for comprehensive natural catastrophe insurance is only increasing, as the continent’s population and level of wealth show no signs of slowing down.