Database Analysis

Our data visualisations illustrate the relationship between recovery speed, quality, availability of relief funds and insurance capital protections

Disaster recovery is a complex economic and political process, demanding all stakeholders take an active role, and often trading speed for deliberation and quality and vice versa. Delays in recovery and reconstruction can exacerbate the immediate impacts of a disaster into persistent long-term consequences.

Explore the data visualisations below to understand the relationship between recovery speed, quality, and the availability of relief funds and insurance capital protections.

Recovery Speed

Recovery Quality

Recovery vs. Speed

There is a deliberation in recovery between speed and quality, with a desire to achieve both a fast recovery and a reformative recovery that enhances resilience. Successful outcomes can be defined as those that satisfy both requirements to a certain degree.

Speed of Recovery

Non-life Insurance Pen Cat↑	Economic Recovery Speed (months)	Society Recovery Speed (months)

Very Low	N/A	N/A
Low	73.8	78.2
Lower Middle	32.6	40.3
Higher Middle	63.5	84.9
High	55.6	38.8
Very High	25.8	31.3

Quality of Recovery

Non-life Insurance Pen Cat↑	No. of Case studies	Economic Recovery quality	Amenity Recovery quality	Safety Recovery quality

Very Low	0	N/A	N/A	N/A
Low	42	2.95	NaN	NaN
Lower Middle	14	3.07	2.93	3.64
Higher Middle	15	3.07	2.87	3.73
High	16	2.69	2.81	3.56
Very High	15	3.13	3.13	3.73

Insurance Penetration Levels

Insurance protection is a vital resource in disaster recovery. A key prerequisite for the success of new natural peril insurance schemes is raising risk awareness and educating people on the benefits of insurance in their lives.

Non-Life Insurance Pen Cat↑	Non-Life Insurance Pen. (%, event year)	No. of Case studies	Proportion of Insured Loss (%)

Very Low	N/A	0	N/A
Low	0.14%	42	6.64%
Lower Middle	0.75%	14	1.79%
Higher Middle	1.40%	15	7.47%
High	2.45%	16	36.13%
Very High	4.14%	15	34.53%

Funding Adequacy

The adequacy and speed of delivery of funds, from external aid sources and insurance payouts, vastly affect the ability of a community to recover.

Delivery Speed

Higher levels of insurance penetration return faster rates, while cases with slow delivery of aid are primarily those of lower insurance levels.

Funding Source

In cases of low insurance penetration, there is a greater need to draw on individual or communal capital, thereby potentially exacerbating existing financial vulnerability.

Downloadable Data

The entire database is available to download in .xlsx

ID↑	Disaster Name	Disaster Subtype	Non-life Insurance Pen Cat	Economic Recovery speed	Society Recovery speed	Country	ISO	Latitude	Longitude	Hazard Type	Year	Start Date	Magnitude	Hazard Magnitude Normalised	Locus	Scale	Population	Economy type	Economy type2	Economic Freedom	Income Group	Gdp growth	Gdp per capita	Gni per capita	Ihdi value	Gini coefficient	Corrupt index	Non-life insurance pen	Non-life insurance penetration processed	Ins pen cat	Damage severity	Economic loss	Fatalities	Displaced	Affected population	Proportion population affected	Self vs external finance	Government aid	Non governmental aid	Insured loss	Speed of delivery	Adequacy	Role of insurance	Resourcing confidence	State of democracy	Disaster management authority	Preparedness	Public participation	Decision making	Quality	Experience	Economy speed	Economy speed months	Economy quality	Economy quality value	Economy confidence	Society speed months	Society amenity	Society amenity value	Society safety	society safety value	Society total	Society confidence	Insurance contribution to recovery outcome	Sources	comments	Thumbnail photo id	Lastupdate	icon

1	Bangladesh Floods	Riverine Flood	Low	6-11 Months	6-11 Months	Bangladesh	BGD	24.42	91.03	Climate	2004	2004-07-08	21,420 km2	Catastrophic damage	NE & cntrl BGD	Regional	141307489	141307489	141307489	55.6	Lower middle	0.052395329	460.758	1650	0.462	32.4	26	0.001588108	0.001588108	1	60-80%	2200000	730	38000	36000000	0.254763567	Mostly external	60000000	209000000	999	>12 Months	Totally Insufficient	Minimal	High	High	Central gov.	Central gov.	Inadequate	Limited scientific basis	Poor	Major	6-11 Months	9	Worse	2	Medium	9	Same	3	Improved	4	3.5	Medium	Negligible	18	None	4029	2021-05-14T14:06:03.310893Z	None
2	Hurricane Sandy	Extratropical Cyclone	Very High	<6 Months	3-5 Years	United States	USA	40.13	-74.18	Climate	2012	2012-10-22	CAT 3	Severe damage	New York/New Jersey	Regional	313993272	313993272	313993272	76.8	High	0.022240309	51450.959	52850	0.797	41	71	0.04345404	0.04345404	6	60-80%	50000000	54	776000	8000000	0.025478253	Mostly external	51000000	None	22800000	>12 Months	Sufficient	Major	High	High	Specialised gov. agency	Specialised gov. agency	Adequate	Established scientific basis	Good	None	<6 Months	3	Same	3	Medium	36	Improved	4	Improved	4	4	Medium	Crucial	None	None	2811	2021-05-14T14:06:30.401593Z	None
3	Hurricane Katrina	Tropical Cyclone	Very High	3-5 Years	3-5 Years	United States	USA	29.59	-90.13	Climate	2005	2005-08-29	CAT 5	Extremely catastrophic damage	New Orleans	Regional	295516599	295516599	295516599	76.8	High	0.033452161	44307.921	44740	0.797	40.5	71	0.04663638	0.04663638	6	60-80%	125000000	1836	1500000	500000	0.001691952	Mostly external	70000000	854000	60000000	>12 Months	Insufficient	Major	High	High	Specialised gov. agency	Specialised gov. agency	Inadequate	Established scientific basis	Poor	None	3-5 Years	48	Worse	2	Medium	60	Worse	2	Improved	4	3	Medium	Important	None	/Disaster Recovery/Storm_Hurricane Katrina.jpeg	None	2021-05-13T13:40:13.704478Z	None
4	India-Pakistan Floods	Riverine Flood	Lower Middle	<6 Months	6-11 Months	India	IND	33.34	75	Climate	2014	2014-09-02	CAT 4	Catastrophic damage	Jammu & Kashmir	Regional	1293859290	1293859290	1293859290	55.2	Lower middle	0.074102276	1574.004	5610	0.468	35.1	41	0.006868531	0.006868531	2	60-80%	7000000	53	1300000	920000	0.000711051	Mostly self-funded	None	None	530000	<6 Months	Insufficient	Minimal	High	High	Central gov.	Central gov.	Inadequate	Limited scientific basis	Mediocre	None	<6 Months	3	Worse	2	Medium	9	Same	3	Same	3	3	Medium	Negligible	None	None	2809	2021-05-14T14:06:00.469321Z	None
5	Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda)	Tropical Cyclone	Low	1-2 Years	3-5 Years	Philippines	PHL	11.19	125.09	Climate	2013	2013-11-08	CAT 5	Extremely catastrophic damage	Eastern Visayas: Tacloban City	Regional	98481032	98481032	98481032	63.8	Lower middle	0.070640243	2760.289	7930	0.574	40.1	36	0.004640428	0.004640428	1	60-80%	10000000	7354	4000000	16106870	0.163553018	Mostly self-funded	2100000	865000	700000	<12 Months	Sufficient	Moderate	High	High	Specially-formed agency	Specially-formed agency	Adequate	Limited scientific basis	Mediocre	Frequent	1-2 Years	18	Same	3	High	36	Improved	4	Same	3	3.5	High	Small	56	Recovery complicated by Bohol earthquake 3 weeks earlier; Survey of 30 experts;	2816	2021-05-14T14:06:30.698965Z	None
6	Typhoon Damrey (Ramil)	Tropical Cyclone	Lower Middle	1-2 Years	<6 Months	Vietnam	VNM	12.36	108.77	Climate	2017	2017-10-31	CAT 2	Moderate damage	Khanh Hoa Province	Regional	95540800	95540800	95540800	55.3	Lower middle	0.068122457	2343.125	6450	0.574	34.8	33	0.007387216	0.007387216	2	20-40%	1000000	123	36000	4330000	0.045320952	Mostly self-funded	13000000	None	999	<6 Months	Insufficient	Minimal	High	High	Central gov.	Central gov.	Adequate	Established scientific basis	Good	Frequent	1-2 Years	18	Same	3	High	3	Same	3	Improved	4	3.5	High	Negligible	71	Govt grants for poorest based on level of damage; Agriculture and fisheries hit hardest and little Govt aid or incentives to recover; Country experiencing rapid economic growth	2817	2021-05-14T14:06:26.730164Z	None
7	Germany Floods	Riverine Flood	Very High	<6 Months	<1 Month	Germany	DEU	53.47	9.17	Climate	2013	2013-05-01	Force 12	Severe damage	N. Germany (Hamburg)	National	80645605	80645605	80645605	73.5	High	0.004895845	47262.283	46250	0.861	31.7	80	0.03465669	0.03465669	5	0-20%	12900000	4	None	1000000	0.012399932	Mostly external	8000000	None	700000	<12 Months	Sufficient	Major	High	High	Specialised gov. agency	Specialised gov. agency	Adequate	Established scientific basis	Very good	Occasional	<6 Months	3	Same	3	High	1	Same	3	Improved	4	3.5	High	Important	39	Previous major floods in 2002 and improvements in flood protection and management meant damage less in some places; significant changes in policy since and moves to private insurance rather than State as main funder	2813	2021-05-14T14:06:28.797144Z	None
8	UK Floods	Riverine Flood	High	6-11 Months	1-2 Years	United Kingdom	GBR	51.833	-2.166	Climate	2007	2007-06-25	Force 13	Severe damage	S & cntrl British Isles	National	61322463	61322463	61322463	78.9	High	0.023567082	50134.316	35540	0.835	33.2	80	0.02840852	0.02840852	4	0-20%	4000000	13	30000	1000000	0.016307238	Mostly external	None	None	670000	<12 Months	Sufficient	Major	High	High	Specialised gov. agency	Specialised gov. agency	Adequate	Established scientific basis	Very good	Occasional	6-11 Months	9	Same	3	High	12	Same	3	Improved	4	3.5	High	Crucial	92	Kick started major reviews by Pitt and Bonfield plus significant investment in flood protection and changes in policy; private insurance funded household and business recovery	2818	2021-05-14T14:06:28.141398Z	None
9	Typhoon Tokage (Siony)	Tropical Cyclone	High	<6 Months	1-2 Years	Japan	JPN	32.528	130.856	Climate	2004	2004-10-12	CAT 4	Catastrophic damage	Kyushu Island	Regional	127761000	127761000	127761000	72.1	High	0.022046879	37688.722	30930	0.876	32.1	73	0.02224048	0.02224048	4	20-40%	2300000	89	21000	84792	0.000663677	Mostly external	None	None	1100000	<12 Months	Sufficient	Moderate	Medium	Medium	Specialised gov. agency	Specialised gov. agency	Adequate	Established scientific basis	Very good	Frequent	<6 Months	3	Same	3	Low	12	Same	3	Same	3	3	Low	Small	1	Affected entire S part of Japan; 1 of 5 major typhoons in 2004 causing widesread flooding	2848	2021-05-14T14:06:07.621947Z	None
10	China Floods	Riverine Flood	Higher Middle	1-2 Years	1-2 Years	China	CHN	32.018	106.49	Climate	2010	2010-05-01	Flood 4	Catastrophic damage	28 mainland Provinces	National	1337705000	1337705000	1337705000	67.3	Upper middle	0.106361405	4560.513	9290	0.643	42.2	39	0.01192495	0.01192495	3	60-80%	18171000	1691	15200000	134000000	0.100171562	Mostly self-funded	None	None	596000	<12 Months	Insufficient	Minimal	High	High	Central gov.	Central gov.	Inadequate	Established scientific basis	Good	Major	1-2 Years	18	Same	3	Low	18	Same	3	Improved	4	3.5	Low	Negligible	5	Severe monsoon season; environmental concerns about over development along Yangtze; most caualties from mudslides; little impact on agricultual production	2846	2021-05-14T14:06:12.808867Z	None
11	Hurricane Mitch	Tropical Cyclone	Higher Middle	3-5 Years	3-5 Years	Honduras	HND	14.957	-87.068	Climate	1998	1998-10-22	CAT 5	Extremely catastrophic damage	Nationwide	National	6192026	6192026	6192026	60.2	Lower middle	0.036	1028.2	2430	0.459	50.5	29	0.012	0.012	3	80-100%	3800000	22658	441150	868228	0.140217111	Mostly external	None	2800000	150000	>12 Months	Insufficient	Moderate	High	High	Central gov.	Central gov.	Inadequate	Limited scientific basis	Poor	Frequent	3-5 Years	48	Much worse	1	Medium	60	Same	3	Same	3	3	Medium	Small	10	Huge rainfall and flooding, deforestation;direct and indirect losses 70% GDP; 70% agriculture destroyed; prompted debate about morality of international debt	2862	2021-05-14T14:06:28.496030Z	None
12	Hurricane Frances	Tropical Cyclone	Very High	6-11 Months	1-2 Years	Bahamas, The	BHS	25.01	-77.36	Climate	2004	2004-08-24	CAT 4	Catastrophic damage	All islands	National	322526	322526	322526	62.9	High	0.008828399	28076.155	21380	0.755	46	65	0.03588563	0.03588563	5	20-40%	1000000	2	2500	8000	0.024804202	Mostly self-funded	None	None	230000	>12 Months	Insufficient	Moderate	High	High	Central gov.	Central gov.	Inadequate	Limited scientific basis	Poor	Occasional	6-11 Months	9	Same	3	Low	18	Same	3	Same	3	3	Low	Small	12	Also hit Florida and USA where it caused most economic damage (US 9 billion) and fatalities;	2857	2021-05-14T14:06:20.854800Z	None
13	Hurricane Ivan	Tropical Cyclone	Very High	6-11 Months	1-2 Years	Jamaica	JAM	18.17	-77.42	Climate	2004	2004-09-02	CAT 5	Extremely catastrophic damage	Nationwide	National	2728777	2728777	2728777	68.6	Upper middle	0.013237251	3719.974	6820	0.608	45.5	44	0.0302802	0.0302802	5	60-80%	595000	15	18000	350000	0.128262588	Mostly self-funded	None	40000	200000	>12 Months	Insufficient	Moderate	High	High	Specialised gov. agency	Specialised gov. agency	Inadequate	No scientific basis	Poor	Frequent	6-11 Months	9	Same	3	Medium	18	Same	3	Same	3	3	Medium	Small	44	Creation of Office of National Reconstruction (ONR) outside the legally established agencies unhelpful; Parish Disaster Committees, were expected to have, but lacked, the capacity for assessment and response; big hit for agricultural production	2864	2021-05-14T14:06:26.329512Z	None
14	Northridge Earthquake	Earthquake & Tsunami	Very High	1-2 Years	1-2 Years	United States	USA	34.28	-118.61	Geophysical	1994	1994-01-17	6.7 Mw	Severe damage	Northridge	Regional	263126000	263126000	263126000	76.8	High	0.04	27776.6	52308	0.755	41	71	0.04813937	0.04813937	6	60-80%	30000000	72	114000	3800000	0.01444175	Mostly external	8600000	None	13900000	<12 Months	Sufficient	Major	High	High	Central gov.	Central gov.	Adequate	Established scientific basis	Good	Infrequent	1-2 Years	18	Same	3	High	18	Same	3	Same	3	3	High	Important	37	Private household insurnace reduced recovery time by 1 year over familes recieving governments grants	2853	2021-05-14T14:06:14.999270Z	None
15	Bam Earthquake	Earthquake	Lower Middle	11-20 Years	6-10 Years	Iran, Islamic Rep.	IRN	29.11	58.26	Geophysical	2003	2003-12-26	6.6 Mw	Severe damage	Bam	Regional	68812713	68812713	68812713	51.1	Upper middle	0.07	2231.3	13451	0.498	38	28	0.009347397	0.009347397	2	80-100%	500000	30000	75600	100000	0.00145322	Self-funded	410000	None	999	>24 Months	Totally Insufficient	Minimal	High	High	Central gov.	Central gov.	Inadequate	Limited scientific basis	Very poor	Frequent	11-20 Years	180	Much worse	1	Medium	120	Worse	2	Improved	4	3	High	Negligible	86	Collapse of adobe structures caused high casualties; dates producing area; never fully recovered; many housing plots still vacant because owners	2841	2021-05-14T14:05:58.662632Z	None
16	Indian Ocean Earthquake and Tsunami	Earthquake	Higher Middle	3-5 Years	3-5 Years	Thailand	THA	8.33	98.35	Geophysical	2004	2004-12-26	9.1 Mw	Extremely catastrophic damage	Indian Ocean	Regional	65002231	65002231	65002231	68.3	Upper middle	0.06	2659.8	13364	0.573	39	36	0.01253271	0.01253271	3	80-100%	30000000	9311	1800000	2133784	0.032826319	Equal	1700000	None	2700000	<12 Months	Surplus	Minimal	Medium	Medium	Central gov.	Central gov.	Inadequate	Limited scientific basis	Poor	Infrequent	3-5 Years	36	Improved	4	High	36	Worse	2	Same	3	2.5	High	Negligible	7	Huge disaster; Massive international aid slowed recovery in some places like Thailand; influx of new people kick started economy	2868	2021-05-14T14:05:59.331619Z	None
17	Kashmir Earthquake	Earthquake	Low	3-5 Years	6-10 Years	Pakistan	PAK	35.14	73.44	Geophysical	2005	2005-10-08	7.6 Mw	Catastrophic damage	Kashmir NW Frontier	Regional	153909667	153909667	153909667	61	Lower middle	0.09	711.5	4652	0.375	30	33	0.003924284	0.003924284	1	60-80%	5200000	87000	3200000	10143700	0.065906841	Mostly self-funded	483000	None	5000	>12 Months	Insufficient	Minimal	High	High	Specially-formed agency	Specially-formed agency	Inadequate	No scientific basis	Poor	Frequent	3-5 Years	48	Worse	2	Medium	96	Worse	2	Same	3	2.5	High	Negligible	375	High death toll, especially of school childre, caused by poor construction; army suffered high casualities which affected command and control in a military state; complicated by Kashmir conflict; plans for relocate Balakot thwarted; Speciall agency EERA; hopes of building back better unrealised	2942	2021-05-14T14:06:27.160757Z	None
18	Sichuan Earthquake	Earthquake & Tsunami	Lower Middle	1-2 Years	1-2 Years	China	CHN	31.17	103.252	Geophysical	2008	2008-05-12	7.9 Mw	Catastrophic damage	Wenchuan	Regional	1324655000	1324655000	1324655000	67.3	Upper middle	0.1	3471.2	11477	0.643	37	39	0.009855344	0.009855344	2	60-80%	130000000	87587	5000000	15000000	0.011323703	Mostly external	10000000	None	366000	<6 Months	Sufficient	Minimal	High	High	Central gov.	Central gov.	Inadequate	Limited scientific basis	Poor	Frequent	1-2 Years	18	Improved	4	Medium	12	Worse	2	Improved	4	3	High	Negligible	36	Rapid recovery;massive aid effort from unaffected cities in south; issues that rapid rebuilding insensitive to special environmental and cultural character of region;	2929	2021-05-14T14:05:58.044673Z	None
19	L'Aquila Earthquake	Earthquake	High	6-10 Years	6-10 Years	Italy	ITA	42.36	13.35	Geophysical	2009	2009-04-06	6.2 Mw	Severe damage	L'Aquila	Regional	59095365	59095365	59095365	62.2	High	-0.06	36976.8	32669	0.768	35	52	0.02396951	0.02396951	4	60-80%	11600000	308	65000	72000	0.00121837	Equal	484000	None	200000	>12 Months	Insufficient	Moderate	High	High	Central gov.	Central gov.	Inadequate	No scientific basis	Very poor	Frequent	6-10 Years	96	Much worse	1	High	120	Much worse	1	Improved	4	2.5	High	Small	40	Stagnant regional economy; lack of cooperation between various local authorities_municiplaity, province and region; inappropriate intervention by Berlusconi central govewrnment in relocating displaced to new distant settlement; ancient city centre 'moth-balled'; heroic effort by fire brigade to scaffold and preserve historic buildings	2926	2021-05-14T14:05:57.679626Z	None
20	Maule Earthquake	Earthquake	Higher Middle	3-5 Years	3-5 Years	Chile	CHL	-36.74	-73.22	Geophysical	2010	2010-02-27	8.8 Mw	Extremely catastrophic damage	Concepción	Regional	16993354	16993354	16993354	58.4	High	0.06	12860.2	20804	0.661	51	67	0.01481713	0.01481713	3	40-60%	30000000	547	800000	5540000	0.326009804	Equal	110000	None	5500000	>12 Months	Sufficient	Moderate	Medium	Medium	Specially-formed agency	Specially-formed agency	Extensive	Established scientific basis	Very good	Frequent	3-5 Years	36	Improved	4	High	36	Improved	4	Improved	4	4	High	Moderate	59	Fast response by central govt to prepare national plan and legislate for funding; delegating implementation to regional government who set up team of archiects and planners to plan and manage reconstruction; exemplorary community involvement; effort to provide temporary accommodation for local businesses;	3032	2021-05-14T14:06:22.511109Z	None

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Case study map
Our case study map offers a graphic representation of disaster recovery on a global scale.
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