Abstract
Natural hazards are becoming increasingly significant these days. There is a need for documentation that concisely presents the type and magnitude of natural hazards as an aid to political and economic decision making.With the aim of presenting the global distribution of exposure to the most significant natural hazards as objectively as possible, Munich Re's Geoscience Research Group published its first World Map of Natural Hazards in 1978. After being revised in 1988, the map was completely reworked and extensively expanded in 1998. The results of earlier work and the latest findings in scientific literature were drawn together and presented in a form that practitioners find both accessible and – bearing in mind the needs of the insurance technicians in particular – readily usable.
In the production of this third edition, all the basic data were for the first time recorded, adjusted, and analysed with the aid of geographic information systems (GIS). The resulting map in DIN A0 format (841×: 1189mm) and the30-cm globe were produced exclusively with the techniques of digital cartography.
A main map and four auxiliary maps present the following types of hazards together with background information:
• Earthquake and vulcanism (shaking risk, Mexico-City-effect, tsunami,volcanic activity, plate tectonics).
• Windstorm (tropical cyclone, extratropical storm, regional storm, tornado, hail, and lightning).
• Flood (storm surge, severe rainfall).
• Marine hazards (high waves, pack ice, and iceberg drift).
• Effects of El Niño and climate change.
In particular, hazard information has been stated, as far as possible,as numbers which can be checked and be used directly in insurance calculations.Hazard is often understood as a quantity that relates the occurrence/frequency and intensity of an event to a specific time interval and so is usually expressed in terms of a probability. Whenever possible, therefore,the hazard information on the world map has three essential components – intensity, frequency and reference period.
The map comes with an accompanying brochure, which contains a description ofthe methods and scales used as well as a comprehensive catalogue of major natural catastrophes throughout the world.
A considerably extended CD-ROM version of the World Map of Natural Hazardswith numerous additional functionalities is also available now.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ambraseys, N. N.: 1962, Data for the investigation of the seismic sea-waves in the Eastern Mediterranean, Bull. Seism. Soc. Am. 52(4), 895–913.
Ambraseys, N. N.: 1964, Data for the investigation of the seismic sea-waves in Europe. Progress Report I, European Seismological Commission Meeting 1964, Budapest.
Bolt, B. A., Horn, W. L., Macdonald, G. A., and Scott, R. F.: 1975, Geological Hazards, Springer, New York.
Chen, Y. et al.: 1998, Seismic hazard assessment based on area source model and seismicity data, Natural Hazards 7(3), 251–267.
Cluff, L.: 1979, Personal communication.
Frisby, E.M. and Sansom, H.W.: 1967, Hail incidence in the tropics, J. Appl. Meteor. 6(2), 339–354.
Giardini, D., Grünthal, G., Shedlock, K. M., and Zhang, P.: 1999, The GSHAP global seismic hazard map, Ann. Geofis. 42(6), 1225–1230. Internet: http://www.volcano.si.edu/gvp/
Lowman Jr, P. D.: 1997, Global tectonic and volcanic activity of the last one million years. NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, F221.001 OD7. Maryland.
Munich Reinsurance Company: 1998, World Map of Natural Hazards, 3rd edition. Munich.
Murphy, J. R., O'Brien, L. J.: 1977, The correlation of peak ground acceleration amplitude with seismic intensity and other physical parameters, Bulletin, Seismological Society of America 67, 877.
Murty, T. S.: 1984, Storm Surges - Meteorological Ocean Tides. Bulletin 212, Supply and Services Canada. Altona, Manitoba.
National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration: 1996, Global Tropical/Extratropical Cyclone Climatic Atlas, Asheville.
Pan, T.-C. and Erri, M.: 1997, Site-dependent building response in Singapore to long-distance Sumatra earthquakes, Earthquake Spectra 13(3), 475–488.
Sieberg, A.: 1932, Erdbebengeographie. Handbuch der Geophysik, 4: Erdbeben, Bornträger, Berlin, pp. 688–1006.
Sterl, A., Komen, G. J., and Cotton, P. D. (Koninklijk Nederlands Meteorologisch Instituut): 1997, 15 Years of Global Wave Hindcasts Using ERA Winds. Validating the Reanalysed Winds and Assessing the Wave Climate, De Bilt.
Trifunac, M. D. and Brady, A. G.: 1975, On the correlations of seismic intensity scales with peaks of recorded strong ground motion, Bulletin, Seismological Society of America 65, 139.
WMO (World Meteorological Organization): 1996, Marine meteorology and related oceanographic activities. Report No. 33: “Storm Surges”.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Berz, G., Kron, W., Loster, T. et al. World Map of Natural Hazards – A Global View of the Distribution and Intensity of Significant Exposures. Natural Hazards 23, 443–465 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011193724026
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011193724026