Samoa

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:
the tsunami in 2009 and TC Evan in 2012. Growth was also
impacted by the global financial crisis. Overall GDP
contracted by 5.1 percent following the tsunami in 2009, but
it has gradually increased in subsequent years. Following TC
Evan, real GDP declined by 0.4 percent. Growth in GDP
rebounded to 2.2 percent in 2013/14 as the reconstruction
program commenced (World Bank 2014). Samoa is expected to
incur, on average over the long term, about SAT 23 million
(US$10 million) per year in losses due to earthquakes and
tropical cyclones. In the next 50 years, Samoa has a 50
percent chance of experiencing a loss exceeding SAT 255
million (US$110 million) and a 10 percent chance of
experiencing a loss exceeding SAT 812 million (US$350
million) (PCRAFI, Country Risk Profile).