ABSTRACT
Surprisingly, the synergistic nature of atmospheric hazards has not always been appreciated. For example, the models traditionally used by the insurance industry to estimate storm losses have been limited to wind speed, in some cases combined with storm surge. Rainfall has been viewed, if at all, as a secondary factor affecting claims (Munich Re, 2002). But, following insured losses of US$3.5 billion in 2001 – mostly caused by inland floods around Houston, Texas, generated by ‘Tropical Storm Allison’ – the industry has started to distinguish between ‘dry’ storms and ‘wet’ storms. Such a distinction, in itself, is still unlikely to capture the varied origins, scales and impacts of severe storms.
