Extreme weather events: How hard lessons strengthen resilience against the next big event

This document describes Zurich's Post-Event Review Capability (PERC) methodology to illustrate how strikingly similar challenges are faced by risk managers regardless of where they operate or the particular hazards they face. The PERC research shows that: 

• Disaster risk management is playing catch-up to an increasingly larger exposure to natural hazards.
• Globally, spending on response is far greater than investment in pre-emptive risk reduction strategies. Where money is invested on prevention, it typically goes to protecting physical structures rather than more cost-effective risk management such as environmental planning.
• Infrastructure protection already in place – levees, for example – can produce a false sense of security.
• Few incentives exist to encourage “building back better” and including resilience into the rebuilding process.
• The neediest in society are often neglected before and after disasters.

While the 12 PERC studies carried out by Zurich focused on flood events holistically, the methodology is applicable to other hazards or other focus points (i.e. individual facilities or businesses) and the lessons gleaned from the work apply to any organization with an interest in strengthening its disaster risk management approach.