The cost of natural disasters to India.
Coinciding with the Paris conference on climate change, severe flooding in Chennai, India's fourth-largest city, serves as a reminder of the costs of natural disasters caused by extreme weather events. Record-high rainfall has resulted in flooding, which has already left at least 500 people dead, displaced 2 million and disrupted production in factories and offices responsible for 3% of national GDP.
With rapid urbanisation, the number of people and volume of economic assets at risk will rise exponentially in cities such as Mumbai.
Coastal cities are particularly vulnerable to flooding, owing partly to inadequate investment in draining systems.
India represents a major market opportunity for natural-disaster insurance.
Key industrial facilities in Chennai have ignored disaster planning, despite the economic risks.
