A super cell thunderstorm battered Melbourne and its suburbs on March 6, causing severe damage to homes, businesses and vehicles from Flemington to Ferntree Gully. The storm system brought winds of up to 100 kmph (60 mph) to the region and dumped hailstones that measured around 100 mm (4 inches) in diameter, according to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM). Flash flooding was also reported as up to 45 mm (1.8 inches) of rain fell in around 30 minutes. Reports said Melbourne’s entire metropolitan area was hit by the severe weather, with officials saying the city’s eastern and southeastern areas were particularly badly affected, including Ferntree Gully, Knox, Lysterfield and Scoresby. The western suburbs of Melton and Essendon were also badly hit. No deaths or serious injuries were reported.

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Don Mango, Chief Actuary
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We were all thrilled with the spectacle of the just-completed 2010 Olympic Winter Games from Vancouver. Winter sports are known for their inherent high levels of riskiness, so it should not be too surprising that some valuable lessons related to “personal risk management behavior” can be drawn from the way the athletes make decisions and how the competitions are conducted and judged. As risk professionals, when we watch the action on the snowy mountains and icy rinks, we can get another view on the choices made in the taking of risk or in mitigating risk. Here are just a few lessons that offer additional insights:

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A powerful Atlantic storm named Xynthia battered western Europe with hurricane-force winds, surging seas and driving rain on February 27 and 28, causing widespread property damage and severely disrupting transport networks and infrastructure. The most severe damage was predominantly seen in western France, though disruption was reported across several countries in western Europe. Reports said at least 64 people were killed across France, Germany, Spain, Portugal and Belgium, and more than 1 million households lost power at the height of the storm. At least 53 of the fatalities occurred in France, which was the country worst-affected by the windstorm.

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A massive earthquake struck off the coast of Maule in Chile at 06:34 UTC on February 27(03:34 local time), causing severe damage across of the country and claiming up to 800 lives in Chile’s biggest earthquake for around 50 years. The earthquake, measuring 8.8 Mw, was located 60 miles (100 kilometers) north-northwest of Chillan and 205 miles (330 kilometers) southwest of Santiago, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). The USGS added that the quake was centered about 21.7 miles (35 kilometers) underground and was felt in Argentina. This is the joint fifth largest earthquake ever to be recorded, according to the USGS. Around 200 aftershocks have hit the region since the main earthquake, the most powerful at 6.9 Mw.

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A strong earthquake struck southern Taiwan at 0:18 UTC earlier today, causing minor damage and disrupting transport. The earthquake, measuring 6.4 Mw, was located 25 miles (40 kilometers) west-northwest of Taitung and 40 miles (60 kilometers) east-southeast of Tainan, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). The USGS added that the quake was centred about 14.4 miles (23.1 kilometers) underground. Fifteen aftershocks have been recorded following the main earthquake, reports said. The USGS said more than 3.1 million people live in areas impacted by a Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) of V or higher (see Table 1 below), equivalent to moderate shaking with the potential for light damage. This number includes the 765,000 people living in the city of Tainan, the USGS said. No tsunami alert was issued.

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A powerful Atlantic storm named Xynthia battered western Europe with hurricane-force winds, surging seas and driving rain on February 27 and 28, causing widespread property damage and severely disrupting transport networks and infrastructure. The most severe damage was predominantly seen in western France, though disruption was reported across several countries in western Europe. According to recent estimates, the storm left at least 62 people dead across France, Germany, Spain, Portugal and Belgium, and more than 1 million households lost power at the height of the storm. At least 51 of the fatalities occurred in France, which was the country worst-affected by the windstorm.

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A massive earthquake struck off the coast of Maule in Chile at 06:34 UTC on February 27 (03:34 local time), causing severe damage across of the country and claiming more than 700 lives in Chile’s biggest earthquake for around 50 years. The earthquake, measuring 8.8 Mw, was located 60 miles (100 kilometers) north-northwest of Chillan and 200 miles (325 kilometers) southwest of Santiago, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). The USGS added that the quake was centred about 21.7 miles (35 kilometers) underground and was felt in Argentina. This is the joint fifth largest earthquake ever to be recorded, according to the USGS. Around 150 aftershocks have hit the region since the main earthquake, the most powerful at 6.9 Mw.

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A powerful Atlantic storm named Xynthia battered Western Europe with hurricane-force winds, surging seas and driving rain on 27 and 28 February, causing widespread property damage and disrupting transport networks. According to recent estimates, the storm has left at least 56 people dead across France, Germany, Spain, Portugal and Belgium, and more than 1 million households have been left without power. At least 47 of the fatalities have occurred in France, which has been the country worst-affected by the windstorm.

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A massive earthquake struck off the coast of Maule in Chile at 06:34 UTC on February 27(03:34 local time), causing severe damage across of the country and claiming more than 700 lives in Chile’s biggest earthquake for around 50 years. The earthquake, measuring 8.8 Mw, was located 60 miles (100 kilometers) north-northwest of Chillan and 200 miles (325 kilometers) southwest of Santiago, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). The USGS added that the quake was centred about 21.7 miles (35 kilometers) underground and was felt in Argentina. This is the fifth largest earthquake ever to be recorded, according to the USGS. Around 150 aftershocks have hit the region since the main earthquake, the most powerful at 6.9 Mw.

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GC ForeCat is a product developed by Guy Carpenter in collaboration with WSI Corporation, the world’s leading provider of weather-driven business solutions, that provides pre-season hurricane landfall forecast rates for different regions in the United States. GC ForeCat revolutionises hurricane forecasting by estimating the rate of landfall for regions along the US coastline. Four different regions (Gulf, Florida, Southeast and Northeast - see Figure 1 on page 2) are derived with associated likelihood of tropical cyclones making landfall in each area. Monthly updates are anticipated up to and including May.

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