A slow-moving tropical depression caused
persistent heavy rains in the Solomon Islands between April
1 and 4, 2014. The highest recorded daily rainfall
associated with this event was 318mm in Honiara on April 3.
The rains caused flash flooding in Honiara, Guadalcanal,
Isabel, Malaita, and Makira-Ulawa. More than 732mm of rain
was recorded over four days at the Honiara rain gauge,
although heavier rainfall was reported inland. On April 5,

This note aims to build understanding of
the existing disaster risk financing and insurance (DRFI)
tools in use in Fiji and to identify gaps where potential
engagement could further develop financial resilience. In
addition the note aims to encourage peer exchange of
regional knowledge, specifically by encouraging dialogue on
past experiences, lessons learned, optimal use of these
financial tools, and the effect they may have on the

In 2012 Tropical Cyclone (TC) Evan
offered a distressing reminder of Samoa s exposure to
natural hazards. TC Evan came only three years after the
earthquake and tsunami of 2009, which affected 2.5 percent
of the country s population, causing 143 fatalities and
associated economic losses equivalent to 20 percent of gross
domestic product (GDP). The economic growth of Samoa has
been impacted in the past few years by two major disasters:

Catastrophe risk models are quantitative
models used to estimate probabilistic loss distributions for
a specified range of assets subject to a baseline level of
disaster risk. While cat risk models are used extensively by
the insurance and reinsurance industry to estimate expected
losses to insured assets, their ability to estimate damages
outside of a narrow range of physical assets such as
buildings or infrastructure is still limited. This paper

Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank Group, discusses promoting strong economic growth in developing countries. He speaks about the need to invest in people,
especially in education, health and to build social safety
nets and protections against both natural disasters and
pandemics to ensure that people don't remain trapped in
extreme poverty. He talks about the challenges in trying to
work in all kinds of complex political situations, so that

By 2050, it is estimated that the
world s agricultural system will need to produce
approximately 50 percent more food to feed an estimated 9
billion people. In emerging markets, agriculture is the most
important economic sector and source of employment; more
specifically, 75 percent of the world s poor live in rural
areas and depend on agriculture for their incomes. With
volatility in food prices putting additional pressure on

Despite considerable progress in the
area of environmental management over the last decade,
Colombia still faces significant impacts from population
exposure to urban air pollution, inadequate access to water
supply and sanitation, and indoor air pollution from solid
fuel use. This study estimates that the total health cost
attributable to these three factors amounts to about 10.2
trillion Colombian Pesos (COP) annually, or about 2 percent

This paper investigates the causal
consequences of Tropical Storm Agatha (2010) -- the
strongest tropical storm ever to strike Guatemala since
rainfall records have been kept -- on household welfare. The
analysis reveals substantial negative effects, particularly
among urban households. Per capita consumption fell by 12.6
percent, raising poverty by 5.5 percentage points (an
increase of 18 percent). The negative effects of the shock

This report summarizes the just-in-time
advice provided by the World Bank to the government of the
Philippines (GoP) immediately after Typhoon Haiyan. The Bank
helped the National Economic and Development Authority
(NEDA) develop the Reconstruction Assistance on Yolanda
(RAY) plan, providing recommendations and sharing
international good practice on key aspects of recovery and
reconstruction, including institutional arrangements for

Panama's economic growth has been at the
top of the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region in
recent years. The country s rapid growth has been largely
pro-poor and translated into significant poverty reduction.
The new Administration is well placed to tackle these
challenges, with its commitment to maintaining an open and
diversified economy and redressing social imbalances.
Looking ahead, the country s main challenges are to maintain

This paper explores the challenges and
opportunities that government officials face in designing
coherent 'rules of the game' for achieving urban
sustainability during times of growth. Sustainability is
judged by three criteria. The first involves elements of
day-to-day quality of life, such as having clean air and
water and green space. The provision of these public goods
has direct effects on the urban public's health and

This issue of the Cambodia economic
update covers the following selected issues: 1) making the
most of the Cambodian rise sector; and 2) creating
opportunities for firms as reflected in findings from the
investment climate assessment. For FY2014 economic growth
held up well despite domestic uncertainty and instability in
neighboring countries. Real growth is estimated to reach 7.2
percent, driven by the garment, construction, and services