Discussion towards a framework for account the risk management expenditures and losses caused by disasters.

1. IMPROVING THE EVIDENCE BASE ON
THE COSTS OF DISASTERS –
TOWARDS AN OECD FRAMEWORK FOR ACCOUNTING RISK
MANAGEMENT EXPENDITURES AND LOSSES OF DISASTERS
OECD High Level Risk Forum
Catherine Gamper
10 December 2015, Loy Henderson Conference centre,
Washington DC

2. Why we need to better account for costs
of disasters
• Past decade: USD 1.5 trillion in economic damages from man-made
disasters (industrial accidents, terrorist attacks) and natural disasters
(primarily storms and floods)
• Increase in economic damages believed to outpace national DRR
investments…
• … though this claim cannot be supported by data as there is hardly any
available, especially on an internationally comparative level
• The development of standardised and comparable accounting frameworks
for DRM expenditure and disaster losses can:
– Support the evaluation of economic benefits of DRR investments
– Facilitate cross-country comparisons
– Systematic indicators on global DRR objectives could be built (Sendai, SDG’s)

3. Results from the first project phase:
• A review of national and international approaches and datasets regarding
disaster losses and damages found:
– Significant progress has been made in accounting for a number of social loss indicators
(such as the fatalities from a disaster)………
– ………….but that efforts to calculate economic losses remain inconsistent and
incomparable across countries (only an estimated 30-40% of disasters are reported with
economic loss figures)
• A review on the expenditure side of the costs of disasters found that
countries need:
– A common language to collect data on public and private expenditures for disaster
management
– Tracking risk management expenditures to provide a full picture that might promote
prevention, mitigation and preparedness funding
– To collect expenditure information more consistently
– A central repository (such as the national accounts) that clearly distinguishes and
accounts for risk management expenditures
OECD work on improving the evidence
base on the costs of disasters

4. Going forward the OECD seeks to:
1. Conduct a loss and damage survey across OECD (and partner)
countries to:
– provide a first evidence base on the costs of disasters
– inform the monitoring of the implementation of the OECD Recommendation on
the Governance of Critical Risks
– evaluate the economic benefits of DRM investments
2. Develop a standard OECD methodology on the collection of
direct and indirect economic losses
3. Conduct a complementary survey on loss and damage
information collection processes and methods, integrating
expenditure information
4. Conduct a pilot review of countries’ ex-ante loss estimation
methods (desk-based)
OECD work on improving the evidence
base on the costs of disasters

5. • A pre-filled out survey based on an Excel file (with PDF instructions
document)
• Countries will then be asked to validate, complement or replace pre-filled
out information
• The survey includes the following sections and variables:
I. Event ID
II. Hazard characteristics
III. Social losses – fatalities
IV. Social losses – affected people
V. Direct economic losses
VI. OECD physical losses
VII.Insured losses
OECD Disaster Loss And Damage
Survey

6. Examples of how to fill out the survey:
Event ID
If you wish to
correct the
reported date
please add the
official one.
Otherwise, leave
the cell blank to
validate.

7. Examples of how to fill out the survey:
Hazard characteristics
If you wish
to correct
the reported
location or
hazard type
and sub-type
please add
the official
one.
Otherwise,
leave the cell
blank to
validate.
• Countries need to confirm the geographic location and the hazard type
and sub-type

8. Examples of how to fill out the survey:
Hazard characteristics

9. €220,000,000 (includes direct
costs: Agricultural loss, Private
businesses, private housing, public
infrastructures) + €100,000,000
estimated indirect costs
Please provide the
official figure by
listing the categories
of costs included in
parenthesis. The
Secretariat asks for
the inclusion of direct
tangible costs in this
categories. However,
If your country also
includes indirect
costs, please specify.
Leave the cell blank if
you wish to validate.
IV Direct economic loss

10. • Questionnaire to understand:
– the methods used to collect economic loss and expenditure
data (definitions)
– the motivation (or absence of such) to collect this
information
– the use of this information
– the criteria for collecting this information
– the responsibilities for collecting this information
– identify the need or usefulness of developing international
standard
Complementary survey on processes and
methods to collect evidence on costs of disasters

11. Direct and indirect economic loss
questionnaire (cont.)

12. 1. Collect evidence on the cost of disasters to:
– Facilitate cross-country comparison on ex-post disaster losses
– Build systematic indicators to monitor disaster losses and disaster risk
reduction
– Evaluate the economic benefits from countries’ ex–ante disaster risk
investment
– Monitor the implementation of the OECD recommendation on the
Governance of critical risks
– Inform a potential flagship report
2. Understand different methods for collecting economic loss data
– To inform the development of standard methodologies
Conclusions

13. • Comment on the instructions and design of the pre-filled OECD
disaster loss and damage survey
• Comment on the structure and questions of the direct and indirect
economic loss questionnaire
Both questionnaires will be revised with HLRF comments and will circulate
before Christmas
• Express interest in participating in the expert meeting that will be
organized in April to discuss the survey results, based on which a
draft methodology will be developed
• Express interest in a potential in-depth information collection on
expenditures for disaster risk management
Delegates are invited to….

14. For further information please contact:
catherine.gamper@oecd.org