Cyclone Pam could trigger Pacific Disaster Risk Program
Cyclone Pam, which hit Vanuatu on Saturday March 14, 2015, as a category 5 storm, may have triggered the Pacific Disaster Risk Financing Insurance Program (PCRAFI).
The scheme is a joint initiative between the World Bank Group, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community and their partners, with grant funding from the Government of Japan.
The World Bank said: “The World Bank Group is now looking at every possible avenue and working with partners to support the people of Vanuatu. Given the intensity of the event and reports of severe damage, the World Bank is exploring the possibility of a rapid insurance payout to the Government of Vanuatu under the PCRAFI.”
Baldwin Lonsdale, the president of Vanuatu, is currently stranded at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendia, Japan, along with some of the country’s top disaster management officials.
According to reports, he blamed climate change for the increasingly unpredictable pattern of cyclonic activity affecting his country in recent years.
"Our hearts go out to the people of Vanuatu in the wake of the devastation from Cyclone Pam. Vanuatu is ranked as one of the world's most at-risk countries to natural disasters because of its vulnerability and exposure to cyclones," said World Bank Group president, Jim Yong Kim. "Cyclone Pam is a devastating reminder of the risks of disasters and we will be working closely with the government to provide any necessary support."
The PCRAFI Pilot aims to test the viability of market-based catastrophe risk insurance solutions for Pacific Island Countries. It was launched in January 2013 and initially joined by five PICs―Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu. The Cook Islands became a member during the second season which ran from November 1, 2013 to October 31, 2014.
