Newark, CA, June 27, 2005: Natural disasters such as a hurricane in Florida have less short and long-term effect on local population and regional economies when compared to a similar disaster in Asia. The World Bank recognized this fact, with the root cause being a frequent lack of catastrophic insurance, compounded by post-disaster funding. For this reason, the World Bank selected RMSI to conduct a critical pilot study of the situation.
RMSI, the global IT services company, has successfully completed all phases of this pilot catastrophe risk assessment study on behalf of the World Bank. Involved were four Indian states with a history of confronting natural disasters: Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Orissa. The project was designed to provide information critical to the process of risk transfer within Asia.
The project focused on risk assessment pertaining to the assets of housing and public infrastructure against natural catastrophes like cyclones, earthquakes, and floods. This World Bank initiative was divided into the following areas of study: assessment of the financial risks and vulnerabilities of natural hazards to countries within the region; secondly, evaluation of the existing post-disaster funding mechanisms in the region, including catastrophe insurance and reinsurance; third, exploration of methods of funding the direct costs of natural disasters outside the national budget.
“This was a much bigger challenge, in view of the limitations in India when compared with developed countries,” said Adityam Krovvidi, Head of the Risk Management Group at RMSI. “Limited data and domestic research, accessibility and reliability of the data, and also a general lack of appreciation of the benefits of public and private sector collaboration in the country made the task an uphill one,” he added.
The World Bank has successfully used RMSI’s deliverables from the project, such as risk models for hazard assessment, vulnerability analysis and financial implications. The findings have proven useful for further analysis and research related to the risk transfer and financing of catastrophe risk in India.
About RMSI
Originating in Silicon Valley in 1992, the company was founded and is managed by alumni from Stanford University. Today, RMSI’s resource base comprises over 600 software, data and technology specialists. The company is part of one of the UK’s largest listed companies, the Daily Mail and General Trust plc. The combination of technical, financial, and human resource strengths, coupled with domain knowledge in many vertical markets, makes RMSI a unique global solution provider.
RMSI’s core competency lies in full-service GIS and spatial solutions. This is well supported by strong complementary competencies in application software services, data engineering, and spatial modeling and analytics. The ability to offer complete solutions, comprising data, software and engineering under one roof, is a key differentiator for the company. RMSI provides solutions to clients in industries ranging from telecommunications, land and property, and geology to engineering, mining and the government sector
For more information, visit www.rmsi.com
