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Severe tropical cyclones over southwest Pacific Islands: economic impacts and implications for disaster risk management

Citation

Deo, A and Chand, SS and McIntosh, RD and Prakash, B and Holbrook, NJ and Magee, A and Haruhiru, A and Malsale, P, Severe tropical cyclones over southwest Pacific Islands: economic impacts and implications for disaster risk management, Climatic Change, 172 Article 38. ISSN 0165-0009 (2022) [Refereed Article]


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© The Author(s) 2022. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License, (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made.

DOI: doi:10.1007/s10584-022-03391-2

Abstract

Tropical cyclones (TCs) are amongst the costliest natural hazards for southwest Pacific (SWP) Island nations. Extreme winds coupled with heavy rainfall and related coastal hazards, such as large waves and high seas, can have devastating consequences for life and property. Effects of anthropogenic climate change are likely to make TCs even more destructive in the SWP (as that observed particularly over Fiji) and elsewhere around the globe, yet TCs may occur less often. However, the underpinning science of quantifying future TC projections amid multiple uncertainties can be complex. The challenge for scientists is how to turn such technical knowledge framed around uncertainties into tangible products to inform decision-making in the disaster risk management (DRM) and disaster risk reduction (DRR) sector. Drawing on experiences from past TC events as analogies to what may happen in a warming climate can be useful. The role of science-based climate services tailored to the needs of the DRM and DRR sector is critical in this context. In the first part of this paper, we examine cases of historically severe TCs in the SWP and quantify their socio-economic impacts. The second part of this paper discusses a decision-support framework developed in collaboration with a number of agencies in the SWP, featuring science-based climate services that inform different stages of planning in national-level risk management strategies.

Item Details

Item Type:Refereed Article
Keywords:severe tropical cyclones, southwest Pacific Islands, economic impacts and implications for disaster risk management, climate change
Research Division:Earth Sciences
Research Group:Oceanography
Research Field:Physical oceanography
Objective Division:Environmental Policy, Climate Change and Natural Hazards
Objective Group:Understanding climate change
Objective Field:Understanding climate change not elsewhere classified
UTAS Author:Holbrook, NJ (Professor Neil Holbrook)
ID Code:150667
Year Published:2022
Deposited By:Oceans and Cryosphere
Deposited On:2022-06-24
Last Modified:2022-07-21
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