Friday, July 18, 2014

Typhoon Rammusan skipped Manila; insurance loss low

Source: AIR eDaily | 18 Jul 2014

Typhoon Rammasun which made landfall in the central Philippine province of Sorsogon on Tuesday and was seen as heading towards Manila, later shifted away from the capital towards China. Insurance losses are not expected to be significant.

US-headquartered catastrophe modelling firm AIR Worldwide noted that, “although smaller and much less intense than deadly and highly destructive Super Typhoon Haiyan - which devastated parts of the Philippines in November 2013 -Typhoon Rammasun nonetheless prompted sizeable evacuations and resulted in some disruption of transportation, as well as school and office closings. Widespread damage is not expected, but some areas could experience storm surge flooding, flash flooding, and/or mud slides, as well as wind damage.”

More than 423,000 fled to emergency shelters, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council. Rammasun caused at least 20 deaths compared to more than 6,300 in the case of Haiyan. Many areas lost power and telephone connections.

In an alert posted at Rammusan's landfall in the Philippines, AIR said that “typhoon and flood damage are usually covered together in the Philippines and are given under separate fire policies with named perils extensions. Insurance penetration varies by region. Typhoon Rammasun will affect some densely populated and urban areas, including Manila, where insurance penetration for residential lines would be around 5-10%, 25-30% for commercial/industrial. Still, given that insurance penetration in this area is around 10% to 20%, insured losses are not expected to be significant as a result of this typhoon.”

In a post-landfall report, AIR noted that Rammusan weakened as it crossed Luzon and passed to the south of Manila.There have been no reports of major flooding to the Metro Manila area.

Rammasun is the seventh typhoon to lash the Philippines this year. About 20 typhoons and storms hit the Philippines each year, making it one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries

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