Игроки всегда ценят удобный и стабильный доступ к играм. Для этого идеально подходит зеркало Вавады, которое позволяет обходить любые ограничения, обеспечивая доступ ко всем бонусам и слотам.
Earlier this month at the 2010 National Hurricane Conference, FEMA got together with media members from CNN, the Weather Channel and various other outlets for a panel session aimed at improving public awareness of preparedness principles.
As most risk managers know, the core tenants of disaster planning are not rocket science. Sure, there are some very high-level endeavors going on with in fields including catastrophe modeling, GPS mapping and geoengineering, but the greatest benefits of preparedness can generally be attained just by following its literal definition: be prepared.
To that end, the administrators and journalists discussed how they can collaborate better and help educate the public — particularly the youth. Here a video with some on-site insight from some of the people who were there. (video via FEMA)
UPDATE: Here’s another FEMA video on preparedness, this one featuring Lt. Gonzalo Gerardo of the Calexico Police Department on scene after the 7.2 quake that recently rocked the California/Mexico border region. (h/t @TheFireTracker2)
This morning, many Americas awoke to the tragic news that an magnitude 6.9 (or 7.1, according state-run China Earthquake Networks Administration) earthquake had struck the western Chinese province of Qinghai. The initial reported death toll made it seem as though the population had perhaps dodged a bullet, but there have now been close to 500 casualties identified, with another 10,000 injured. And if we use history as a guide, these numbers may very well increase as well. Heart-breaking.
Still, when you consider that the 2008 Sichaun quake struck along the same Longmenshan fault system in a more populous region and killed some 90,000 people, things could have been worse. And in a year where another powerful, seismic event shakes the globe seemingly every week, that is at least one thing to be thankful for as the region tries to launch successful rescue and recovery efforts.
But has the earth really been producing more major quakes? It sure seems like it, and Newsweek gives a rundown of the recent evidence:
Yesterday, a 6.9-magnitude quake struck Qinghai, China, resulting in an estimated 400 dead and 10,000 injured. One week before that, a 7.7 tremor hit Northern Sumatra, Indonesia. Two days before that, a 7.2 shook Baja, Mexico. At the end of February, Chile shuddered under an 8.8 earthquake, little over a month after a 7.0 crumbled Haiti and killed nearly 230,000. With such a list, 2010 appears to be the year of the apocalypse or, at the very least, unnaturally active for these natural disasters.
Scientists say 2010 is not showing signs of unusually high earthquake activity. Since 1900, an average of 16 magnitude 7 or greater earthquakes — the size that seismologists define as major — have occurred worldwide each year. Some years have had as few as 6, as in 1986 and 1989, while 1943 had 32, with considerable variability from year to year.
With six major earthquakes striking in the first four months of this year, 2010 is well within the normal range. Furthermore, from April 15, 2009, to April 14, 2010, there have been 18 major earthquakes, a number also well within the expected variation.
“While the number of earthquakes is within the normal range, this does not diminish the fact that there has been extreme devastation and loss of life in heavily populated areas,” said USGS Associate Coordinator for Earthquake Hazards Dr. Michael Blanpied.
The last line is the key.
There aren’t more earthquakes. There are more people.
And that is why the need for better preparedness, building codes and emergency response is greater than ever. The worst-case events of the recent past may not actually be worse than the true true worst-case disasters we will see in the future. (For reference, here are the 11 deadliest earthquakes in history.) With the global population projected to reach nine billion by mid-century, there will be way more people who are — quite literally — atop shaky ground.
We have seen a similar phenomenon both in the United States and globally in terms of hurricane/windstorm risk. Whether or not hurricanes are actually increasing is debatable (and not something I want to get into here), but what is undisputed is that more people today live near the coast than ever before. Internal migrations and population booms in recent decades have left more people directly in the path of the storm.
And now, we are seeing how the same thing can — and will continue to — tragically play out near fault lines.
[All this recent storm] activity underscores just how precarious it is to live and work on the world’s coasts. Despite this, the United Nations has estimated that 37% of the world’s population lives within 100 kilometers (about 62 miles) of the coast. In theUnited States, coastal areas make up one-fifth of the landmass but are home to more than half of the population. And according to a paper by Charles Colgan, chief economist of the National Ocean Economics Project and professor of public policy and management at the University of Southern Maine, 75% of the U.S. domestic economy came from coastal areas in 2000. With these numbers steadily increasing, it is vitally important to understand the natural catastrophe risks related to coastal development, especially in light of what was a particularly active year for such events.
Our other editor Morgan O’Rourke wrote the piece and breaks down both tsunami risk and the memorable 2004 hurricane season if you want to read more on the topic.
UPDATE II: EQECAT, a leading catastrophe risk modeling company, released an update on the Qinghai quake, announcing that — as expected — the insured losses will be “minimal.”
Approximately 16,000 people were exposed to strong ground shaking, and hundreds of deaths have been reported, primarily due to the particular earthquake-vulnerability of the of the conventional mud-brick construction. Though this earthquake has caused immense consequences to the people affected, its significance among the insurance community will be minimal. The Yushu prefecture in which the earthquake was centered contributes a fraction of a percent to China’s GDP, with primary industries of herding and farming, as well as limited tourism related to Buddhist monasteries throughout the region.
Seismic activity in the Tibetan plateau is related to extrusion within the Eurasian plate resulting from convergence of the Indian plate along the Himalayan front. Extrusion-related earthquakes with moderate to large magnitudes, of which the magnitude 7.9 2008 Wenchuan earthquake was one example, are known to occur throughout central China from the Himalaya northward.
Central and South Florida have seen four straight hurricane-free years. With that in mind, you would think insurance companies would be operating deep in the black — raking in premiums during these storm-free times.
According to insurers’ 2009 annual reports, however, “50 out of 70 Florida-based companies posted losses on their insurance business for the year; 31 of the companies reported a drop in reserves — the money insurers set aside to pay claims.”
hese Florida-based companies, many of them small, write about 52 percent of the residential homeowners insurance in the state. The rest is written by Citizens Property Insurance, the state-run company; State Farm Florida Insurance, the largest private carrier; and several dozen companies based outside of Florida.
The dreary financial reports coincide with a push in Tallahassee to pass legislation that would free up insurance companies to raise their rates at will — as much as 5 percent initially and as much as 15 percent in the future. Right now, any rate increase requires state approval.
These Florida-based companies, many of them small, write about 52 percent of the residential homeowners insurance in the state. The rest is written by Citizens Property Insurance, the state-run company; State Farm Florida Insurance, the largest private carrier; and several dozen companies based outside of Florida.
The dreary financial reports coincide with a push in Tallahassee to pass legislation that would free up insurance companies to raise their rates at will — as much as 5 percent initially and as much as 15 percent in the future. Right now, any rate increase requires state approval.
It’s obviously a bit puzzling when you try to make sense of so many insurance companies losing money when they’re only bringing in premiums and not paying out claims. Alex Sink, the state’s chief financial officer is asking for answers from Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty. The status report is due Wednesday.
Florida insurers say they have been left vulnerable by a number of factors, including:
The state’s determination to hit the brakes on rate increases. Numerous rate hike requests have been whittled down or rejected.
The rise in the cost of “reinsurance” — backup insurance that companies buy to limit their exposure in the event of a disaster.
The state’s schedule of wind mitigation discounts, which grants major rate cuts to homeowners who buy shutters and pay for other improvements to make their homes more hurricane-ready. Companies complain the discounts are overly generous.
The reopening of Hurricane Wilma claims as policyholders put in for additional losses — often at the insistence of public adjusters, who represent homeowners.
As in the case of Southern Oak, the payment of overly generous commissions to affiliated companies that drain revenue from the insurer and leave it with little income or sometimes even losses.
As we approach the start of the 2010 hurricane season, it’s scary to think what would happen if a hurricane does in fact strike Central or South Florida. How would these insurers pay out claims?
Moves are being made in Tallahassee to remedy this problem. One such remedy is a proposed bill that would require each property insurer operating in the sunshine state to boost its reserves to $15 million — a sizable hike from the current requirement of just $4 million.
This, along with other proposed changes, will hopefully change the current state of affairs for Florida insurers. If not, the next hurricane to strike the area could leave many property owners in the dust, literally and figuratively.
Usually when we discuss news of homeowners’ insurance in Florida and other hurricane-prone areas, it is to report how yet another insurer has pulled up stakes and decided to stop writing policies in the region. But yesterday’s announcement from Travelers that they will begin a pilot program to write policies in Certain Atlantic and Gulf states bucks that trend. The news came as part of an initiative to raise awareness of catastrophe preparedness that was started by The Travelers Institute, a kind of think tank group created by Travelers to further the discussion of public policy topics of particular importance to the insurance community.
The pilot program brings Travelers into the homeowners’ insurance market in these high-risk areas, but with an important condition — the company will be writing policies for those homes that meet specific natural disaster resistant building standards. As an added incentive, qualifying homes will be eligible for a 35% hurricane premium credit.
Eric Nelson, Travelers’ vice president of personal insurance, explained that the company wants to educate consumers about the value of these standards, which include recommendations for reinforced concrete framing, wind-resistant roofs and impact-resistant glass, so that they ask for these features when building or retrofitting a home.
“Homes built to meet these stringent standards are better able to withstand severe weather, reducing property losses and saving lives, and we want to promote and raise awareness of these smarter building practices,” said Nelson. “Building stronger homes is a key principle of the Travelers Coastal Hurricane Wind Zone Plan, our proposal to improve the availability and affordability of catastrophic wind coverage in communities along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts. We hope this initiative and meaningful premium credit will encourage homeowners, builders and building officials to adopt these disaster resistant standards.”
For homeowners in high-risk areas, Travelers’ program seem like a reasonable alternative to state-run pools and exorbitantly high premiums. Of course, it will take some effort (and money) to meet these fortification standards but in the end it is about managing the risk proactively, which can’t be all bad. And with so many insurers choosing to leave these states, perhaps programs like this will give insurers the incentive to come back and hopefully bring lower insurance premiums with them.
