Pacific Catastrophe Risk Assessment and Financing Initiative
Since 1950 disasters have affected around 9.2 million people in the Pacific region, caused 9,811 reported deaths and cost the Pacific Island Countries approximately USD 3.2 billion (in nominal terms) in associated damage costs (EM-DAT, 2010).
The Pacific Catastrophe Risk Assessment and Financing Initiative (PCRAFI) aims to provide the Pacific Island Countries (PICs) with disaster risk modelling and assessment tools. It also aims to engage in a dialogue with the PICs on integrated financial solutions for the reduction of their financial vulnerability to natural disasters and to climate change. The initiative is part of the broader agenda on disaster risk management and climate change adaptation in the Pacific region.
Additionally, the Pacific Disaster Risk Assessment Project provides 15 countries with disaster risk assessment tools to help them better understand, model and assess their exposure to natural hazards.
PCRAFI assembled, processed, developed and organised the largest collection of geo-referenced data for hazard modelling in the region:
From these inputs PCRAFI produced detailed probabilistic hazard models for all 15 countries: tropical cyclone wind, storm surge and rain, earthquake ground shaking and tsunami.
The Pacific Risk Information System (PacRIS) was compiled by SOPAC under PCRAFI. PacRIS is a geographic information (GIS) platform designed to provide the Pacific Island Countries, development partners and the private sector with the data and tools needed to develop disaster risk reduction applications. See the Partners page for the full list.