Terrorist attacks, hurricanes and pandemic risks top the list of “Top Ten Mega Disasters” of the past decade, released yesterday by
The mega disasters, which were selected by Zurich based on overall business impact and ranked chronologically, are:
1. 9/11 2001
2. SARS 2003
3. 2003 U.S./Canada power outage 2003
4. 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami 2004
5. Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma 2005
6. Financial crisis 2008
7. China earthquake 2008
8. H1N1 pandemic 2009
9. Iceland volcano 2010
10. Floods in Europe and Pakistan 2010
The list is being released ahead of the REBEX 2010, Regional Risk Management Conference & Exhibition, which will be held on Sept. 21, 2010 in Wheeling, Ill. At REBEX, Zurich risk prevention specialists will present 10 lessons learned from the top disasters in an effort to help risk managers strengthen their business risk prevention plans to prepare for future crises.
“Zurich believes strongly that planning ahead for the unexpected is a critical component of any risk management program,” said Vic Gordon, head of Risk Prevention Technical Services, Zurich Services Corp. “As we¹ve learned from the tragedies on this list and others, a mega disaster can strike without warning and without precedent, and the impact to businesses in affected industries is usually immediate.”
Gordon will be joined at REBEX by Ashutosh Riswadkar, line of business director for risk prevention and management, Zurich Services Corporation for the session “Mega Disasters! Top Ten Lessons Learned.”
