Oasis Loss Modelling Framework, the open source catastrophe modelling platform, has begun a new project to co-develop catastrophe models for flood in the Philippines and windstorm in Bangladesh, funded by Germany’s International Climate Initiative (IKI).
Oasis will collaborate with the IKI, part of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), to better understand the risks associated with extreme events in the Philippines and Bangladesh, which are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
The two-year project will aim to provide decision makers in these two countries with insight and global standards around catastrophe modelling, and will connect international reinsurance capacity with specific in-country demand.
Augusto Hidalgo, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Reinsurance Corporation of Philippines (Nat Re) said: “It is an honour to be a part of this pioneering project as it is the first of its kind for developing nations. We are pooling together the expertise of key influencers of disaster risk management and disaster risk financing and insurance from the government, the academe, and the insurance sector, all of whom have a shared vision of more disaster resilient communities.
“In the end, the catastrophe model that we’ll build and the capabilities that we’ll develop are more than just new tools to augment our decision-making processes, but are tangible representations of what the public and private sectors – particularly the insurance sector – can achieve together.”
Oasis CEO Dickie Whitaker also commented: “For too long, the knowledge of how to build catastrophe models has remained within an elite group centred around the (re)insurance industry. By bringing that knowledge to these countries imbedded in Oasis’ pioneering open-source platform, we are changing that.
“This exciting two-year project will deliver two new catastrophe models, including climate change impacts delivered on the open-source Oasis software, along with in-country capacity in the development, use and understanding of catastrophe risk models, the connection of international reinsurance capacity with in-country demand, as well toolkits for in-country users to update and sustain the models in the long-term beyond the timeframe of the project.”
In the Philippines, IKI project partners include Nat Re; the Disaster Risk and Exposure Assessment for Mitigation program of the Philippines (UP DREAM); and the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).
Bangladesh partners include experts from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology; the Bangladesh International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN); and technology, management, education and governance consultancy Kitetrackers of Bangladesh.
Additional partners include the UK Met Office; the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK); catastrophe modelling company KatRisk; and international reinsurance brokers Willis Towers Watson and Tysers.
Whitaker continued: “Oasis is a not-for-profit company committed to improving the way the world models for natural catastrophes. The impact we can deliver by lowering the barriers to accessing, deploying and executing sophisticated catastrophe models using a full simulation engine means there are no restrictions on the modelling approach users can take.
“In this way, we are supporting the IKI and BMU as well as the governments of the Philippines and Bangladesh in bringing new insights to natural catastrophe planning and resilience.”
