ESRI has announced that Munich Reinsurance Company (Munich Re) is providing an online worldwide database of natural events and catastrophes for use in the insurance industry. The database, called the NATural Hazards Assessment Network (NATHAN), uses ESRI’s ArcIMS for mapping and GIS analysis over the Internet.
NATHAN is the next evolution of Munich Re’s well known World Map of Natural Hazards and CD-ROM. Its goal is to create an efficient and easy-to-use interactive online tool designed to mine this comprehensive global database of natural hazards and catastrophes,” says Dr. Juergen Schimetschek, Geo Risks Research/Environmental Management, Munich Re
NATHAN offers users of the system many benefits. “Risk managers find that NATHAN provides them support for efficient decision making through choosing their inquiry criteria to view what interests them,” says Lee Burton, Insurance Industry Manager, ESRI. ” Underwriters find tailor-made information for every risk location. Since NATHAN resides on Munich Re’s Web site, these insurance partners can find this information no matter where the partner is located at any time of day. That gives them quick response times when it counts.”
NATHAN allows the viewer to search for hazards and natural catastrophes that have taken place over the last century through a map interface so the exact spatial distribution of these hazards and their intensities can be viewed, and specific cartographic features can be generated to fit whatever view the user needs.
