High-resolution risk selection tool

Industry-first Global Storm Surge Zones

Tropical cyclones put many areas of the world at risk from strong winds, storm
surges and heavy rainfall. Hurricane Katrina in the US or Cyclone Nargis in
Myanmar showed that if such storms hit flat coastal areas, storm surges can
be the main driver of damage. While the loss potential is huge, there has only
been limited availability of risk information and no global overview up to now.
With the launch of the industry’s first Global Storm Surge Zones, Swiss Re is
closing the gap. Our storm surge hazard zones enable our clients to pinpoint
their storm surge risk with a consistent, worldwide, probabilistic and high-
resolution risk look-up in Swiss Re’s CatNet tool. The zones show that almost
230 million people – roughly 3% of the world’s population – are exposed to
storm surge risk.
 Amsterdam-Rotterdam

New York-Newark

New Orleans Alexandria

Tampa
Miami

Tropical cyclones:
the main risk driver

We used our Global Storm Surge Zones

to quantify the number of people at risk in
616 metropolitan areas around the world.
The ranking on this page shows the
number of people potentially affected by
storm surge within the respective
metropolitan area.

Asia is by far the most exposed region.

Eight out of 10 metropolitan areas with
the most people at risk are in Asia, with
areas in China and Japan in the top ranks.
This is attributable to a combination of Population at risk Americas
factors: many areas in Asia are exposed
to strong cyclone activity and numerous in millions
major cities are located on the coast 1. Miami
with relatively flat topography. 2.3m

Apart from a few exceptions such as

2. New York-Newark
1.5m
Amsterdam-Rotterdam, most metropol- 7-12m
itan areas high up in the ranking are 3. New Orleans
exposed to tropical cyclones. At a global 0.9m
level, tropical cyclones are clearly the 4-6m
main driver of storm surge risk. That 4. Tampa
being said, we should not underestimate 1-3m 0.9m
the threat posed by other atmospheric
5. Virginia Beach
phenomena such as winter storms in >1m 0.6m
Europe.
 TOP 25 Population at risk in millions

1. Pearl River Delta

12.3m
2. Shanghai
8.6m
3. Amsterdam-Rotterdam
5.1m
Osaka-Kobe 4. Osaka-Kobe
3.1m
Nantong Nagoya
5. Nagoya
Shanghai Tokyo- 3.0m
Wuxi-Changzhou Yokohama 6. Tokyo-Yokohama
2.7m
Chittagong Cixi 7. Manila
2.7m
Kolkata
Ningbo 8. Miami
Jiaojing 2.3m
Wenzhou
9. Jakarta
Shantou 2.3m
Pearl River Delta
10. Surabaya
Mumbai 2.2m
Ho Chi Minh Manila 11. Ho Chi Minh
2.1m
12. Jiaojing
2.0m
13. Chittagong
1.9m
Jakarta
14. Wuxi-Changzhou
Surabaya 1.7m
15. Shantou
1.6m
16. Ningbo
1.6m
17. New York-Newark
1.5m
18. Alexandria
1.5m
19. Kolkata
1.4m
EMEA Asia Pacific 20. Mumbai
1.3m
1. Amsterdam-Rotterdam 1. Pearl River Delta 21. Wenzhou
5.1m 12.3m 1.1m
2. Alexandria 2. Shanghai 22. Cixi
1.5m 8.6m 0.9m
3. London 3. Osaka-Kobe 23. New Orleans
0.4m 3.1m 0.9m
4. Hamburg 4. Nagoya 24. Tampa
0.4m 3.0m 0.9m
5. Dubai 5. Tokyo-Yokohama 25. Nantong
0.3m 2.7m 0.8m

© 2017 Swiss Re. All rights reserved.
Graphic design and production
Swiss Re Corporate Real Estate &
Services/Media Production, Zürich
Disclaimer
The entire content of this factsheet
is subject to copyright with all rights
reserved. The information may be
used for private or internal purposes,
provided that any copyright or other
proprietary notices are not removed.
Electronic reuse of the data published
in this factsheet is prohibited.
Reproduction in whole or in part or
use for any public purpose is permitted
only with the prior written approval
of Swiss Re. Courtesy copies are
appreciated.
Visit www.swissre.com to download
or to order additional copies of
Swiss Re publications.
Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd
Mythenquai 50/60
P.O. Box
8022 Zurich
Switzerland
Telephone +41 43 285 2121
Fax +41 43 285 2999
www.swissre.com
Background on industry-first
Global Storm Surge Zones
The first global high-resolution zones
50 years
100 years
250 years
500 years
1 000 years
Swiss Re Global Storm Surge Zones in Wenzhou, China
Swiss Re’s Global Storm Surge Zones provide, for the first time, high-resolution
global information about the frequency of flooding due to storm surge from the
ocean. The zones are based on a high-resolution digital terrain model (acquired
on 5 meter resolution for Europe and the US) and do not take into account the effect
of flood protection measures like dams, floodgates or dikes.
How it works
In areas prone to tropical cyclones and tropical storms, the Global Storm Surge Zones
are based on our in-house probabilistic Tropical Cyclone Track Set, consisting of
more than 800 000 tracks globally. We used these tracks as input for our in-house
global storm surge model which we used to calculate the zones.
In areas not affected by tropical cyclones, the Global Storm Surge Zones are based on
a proprietary in-house model. Simulated tides were combined with global sea surface
height reanalysis data and calibrated using a network of global buoy measurements.
Effective risk management
People affected by storm surge can suffer significant damages to life and property,
as flood depths can reach several meters. During Hurricane Katrina, for example,
measured water levels locally exceeded 8 meters. The zones show that globally
almost 230 million people are at risk from storm surge. This number will further
increase over time, as populations grow and sea levels rise due to climate change.
The zones also raise awareness in areas at risk and can contribute to more effective
risk management.
An improved understanding of storm surge risk can also support accurate insurance
pricing. This can facilitate storm surge insurance take-up and help to close the
protection gap. The fact is, large parts of storm surge losses are currently uninsured,
even in mature insurance markets like the US.
Getting access
The Global Storm Surge Zones are integrated into our client tools, such as CatNet®,
Swiss Re’s worldwide natural hazards information and mapping tool. Access
CatNet® via http://www.swissre.com/clients/client_tools/about_catnet.html
Interested to learn more? Visit us at www.swissre.com