Day: March 24, 2022

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Verisk Estimates Insured Industry Losses for M7.3 Namie, Japan, Earthquake

BOSTON, March 23, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — According to Verisk Extreme Event Solutions (formerly AIR Worldwide), insured losses to properties from the March 16 M7.3 earthquake that struck offshore the island of Honshu, Japan, will be between JPY 240 billion (~USD 2 billion) and JPY 490 billion (~USD 4 billion). Of that, between JPY 50 billion (~USD 400 million) and JPY 100 billion (~USD 820 million) can be attributed to commercial and industrial properties.

Early reports suggest that more than 580 buildings in Fukushima Prefecture and more than 570 buildings in Miyagi Prefecture were damaged. Other impacts from the quake include power and water outages; damage to highways, rail lines, viaducts, and other infrastructure; short-term cancellation of some train service; and significant supply chain and production interruption for the automotive and paper industries.

The Verisk Earthquake Model for Japan, last updated in 2021, incorporates Japan’s Headquarters for Earthquake Research Promotion’s (HERP’s) view of seismic hazard in some cases as well as its own insights into the seismicity and ground motion model. Verisk’s scenarios closely capture the high ground shaking intensity of the high-frequency ground motions of this quake due to the source characteristics and large spatial variations in site conditions. Like many previous significant earthquakes in Japan, high-frequency ground motions tend to be amplified considerably in areas with shallow soft sediments such as valleys and the coast.

The March 16, 2022, earthquake was preceded by an M6.4 foreshock approximately two minutes earlier. The epicenter of the mainshock was located ~100 km from the epicenter of the March 11, 2011, M9.0 Tohoku earthquake. In the past century, 33 earthquakes of M7 or greater have occurred within 250 km of the March 16 earthquake, including 7 earthquakes >M7 since the March 2011 M9.0 earthquake.

According to Verisk, earthquakes in the Japan Trench with relatively deep focal depths tend to produce very high ground motions in coastal areas. The March 11, 2011, M9.0 Tohoku earthquake is an example of an earthquake with a relatively deep focal depth striking the Japan Trench that had very high ground motion observations. Tohoku was not only the first subduction earthquake exceeding M8.5 in the Japan Trench since 1900, but it was also the largest earthquake to strike Japan since record-keeping began in the 1600s. Before Tohoku, the Japan government’s seismic hazard models developed by HERP had relied heavily on historical seismicity. According to Verisk, the Tohoku earthquake, however, clearly proved that the past was not a reliable indicator of future seismic activity; limited historical data had led to an underestimation of hazard.

Verisk’s insured loss estimates include:
•  Insured physical damage to onshore property (residential, commercial/industrial, mutual), both structures and their contents, and from ground shaking, fire-following, and liquefaction

Verisk’s insured loss estimates do not include:
•  Losses to uninsured properties
•  Losses to land
•  Losses to infrastructure
•  Losses to automobiles
•  Business interruption losses, both direct and indirect
•  Workers’ compensation losses
•  Losses to civil engineering (railway) risks, marine cargo and marine hull risks, aviation risks
•  Transit warehouse risks, movable all risk, and personal accident risks
•  Loss adjustment expenses
•  Losses from non-modeled perils, such as landslide
•  Demand surge—the increase in costs of materials, services, and labor due to increased demand following a catastrophic event

About Extreme Event Solutions at Verisk
Extreme event solutions at Verisk (formerly AIR Worldwide) provides risk modeling solutions that help individuals, businesses, and society become more resilient to extreme events. In 1987, Verisk founded the catastrophe modeling industry and today models the risk from natural catastrophes, supply chain disruptions, terrorism, pandemics, casualty catastrophes, and cyber incidents. Insurance, reinsurance, financial, corporate, and government clients rely on Verisk’s advanced science, software, and consulting services for catastrophe risk management, insurance-linked securities, longevity modeling, site-specific engineering analyses, and agricultural risk management. Verisk’s extreme event solutions team is headquartered in Boston, with additional offices in North America, Europe, and Asia. For more information, please visit www.air-worldwide.com. For more information about Verisk, a leading data analytics provider serving customers in insurance, energy and specialized markets, and financial services, please visit www.verisk.com.

Kevin Long
pr@air-worldwide.com
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FLEXIM Cares Announces Its Support in OCEANA and Check-In

Oceana

Oceana

BERLIN, March 23, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Dedicated to giving back to the community and the environment, FLEXIM Cares is a division of non-invasive ultrasonic flowmeter manufacturer FLEXIM and is involved in an increasing number of important local projects around the world. On a global level, this year FLEXIM is proud to support the protection of the world’s precious oceans. FLEXIM has already made valuable contributions to supporting land and animal conservation through donations made to WWF and now aims to help preserve the world’s oceans and diverse marine life by contributing to the world-renowned organization OCEANA.

OCEANA is the world’s largest organization dedicated to protecting the world’s oceans and has tirelessly worked to win over 225 policy victories since being founded, protecting more than 4.5 million square miles of valuable ocean.

Why worry about the world’s oceans?

Oceans produce over half of the world’s oxygen, help regulate the world’s climate and absorb vast amounts of carbon dioxide. It also helps to feed hundreds of millions of people globally every day. FLEXIM is hopeful that by championing the support of the world’s oceans, we can help to restore and protect this critical, rich and abundant part of our planet for many generations to come.

“Be the change you want to see in the world,” – Mahatma Ghandi

Helping to keep children safe with Check-In

This year, FLEXIM Germany felt it was important to make a sizeable donation to the local children’s organization, Check-In. From its inception, Check-In has evolved to become an indispensable part of everyday life for several generations of children in need of refuge.

The children experience a safe place where they feel welcome and wanted, regardless of gender, ethnic or social background or religious beliefs. They are protected from assaults and experiences of violence that no child should be faced with, and they learn to set their own boundaries and tolerate those of others around them.

Helping to inspire confidence

Each child is encouraged to pursue and grow their own strengths and talents, through sport, cooking and playing together, as well as taking part in celebrations, excursions and various creative activities that allow the children to get to know themselves better as well as others.

A highlight of Check-In’s facility is the circus wagon. With its handicraft and chill-out corner, it’s the perfect place for the children to give free rein to their creativity or to simply retreat for a while if they feel the need. There are also plenty of games and space to play and dress up. Unfortunately, the inside of the van is in desperate need of renovation to make it a much nicer place for the kids to hang out. FLEXIM’s donation will help to make this transformation happen.

A place to feel good again.

Next year’s ‘wagon project’ will fully involve the children for whom it’s such an important resource, allowing them to choose exactly how the wagon should look inside, and what colors, furniture and accessories they would love to have.

FLEXIM is also pleased that it will be able to help replace the old and tired swing set in Check-In’s outdoor area.

Thanks to donations like those from FLEXIM, the children will soon be floating back and forth on their beloved swing once more, or just sitting and chatting about what’s going on in their lives. Because as they say, a problem shared is a problem halved.

FLEXIM is the leader in clamp-on ultrasonic flow measurement for liquids, gases and steam.

FLEXIM Cares: https://dev.flexim.uvensys.net/us/flexim-cares

Homepage: https://www.flexim.com/us

Contact Us: https://www.flexim.com/us/contact-us

Local contact: https://www.flexim.com/us/locations

News and Events: https://dev.flexim.uvensys.net/us/about-us/news-and-events

Contact:

Jörg Sacher         PR / Communications

FLEXIM GmbH    +49 30 93 66 76 71 09    jsacher@flexim.de    www.flexim.com

Related Images

Image 1: Oceana

Image 2: Check-In

This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com.

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Face-to-face learning suspended as Covid infections skyrocket

Head of the Covid-19 Taskforce of the Ministry of Education and Sports Khanthaly Siriphongphanh issued a notice yesterday suspending face-to-face classes of pre-schools and the first to fourth grades of primary schools nationwide.

The move aims to strengthen anti-Covid-19 measures in the country.

Educational institutions operating face-to-face classes have been advised to cooperate with local Covid-19 taskforces to assess the risks and consider teaching and learning activities according to the actual situation of each locality and the approval of the Provincial Covid-19 Taskforce, stated the notice.

Laos has logged 2,819 new cases of Covid-19 over the past 24 hours, the highest ever recorded on a single day basis since the first case was detected two years ago.

The new infections were detected among 7,010 samples tested for Covid-19 nationwide yesterday.

These included 2,776 domestic infections and 43 imported cases with most of the domestic transmissions detected in Vientiane with 1,084, Savannakhet 388, Vientiane (province) 228, Xayaboury 240, Xieng Khuang 145, Khammuan 139, and Oudomxay 87.

The total caseload of Covid-19 in the Lao PDR has reached 161,866 including 652 deaths.

Source: Lao News Agency

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EU Negotiators Agree on Landmark Law to Curb Big Tech

Negotiators from the European Parliament and EU member states agreed Thursday on a landmark law to curb the market dominance of U.S. big tech giants such as Google, Meta, Amazon and Apple.

Meeting in Brussels, the lawmakers nailed down a long list of do’s and don’ts that will single out the world’s most iconic web giants as internet “gatekeepers” subject to special rules.

The Digital Markets Act (DMA) has sped through the bloc’s legislative procedures and is designed to protect consumers and give rivals a better chance to survive against the world’s powerful tech juggernauts.

“The agreement ushers in a new era of tech regulation worldwide,” said German MEP Andreas Schwab, who led the negotiations for the European Parliament.

“The Digital Markets Act puts an end to the ever-increasing dominance of Big Tech companies,” he added.

The main point of the law is to avert the years of procedures and court battles needed to punish Big Tech’s monopolistic behavior in which cases can end with huge fines but little change in how the giants do business.

Once implemented, the law will give Brussels unprecedented authority to keep an eye on decisions by the giants, especially when they pull out the checkbook to buy up promising startups.

“The gatekeepers – they now have to take responsibility,” said the EU’s competition supremo Margrethe Vestager.

“A number of things they can do, a number of things they can’t do, and that of course gives everyone a fair chance,” she added.

‘Concrete impacts’

The law contains about 20 rules that in many cases target practices by Big Tech that have gone against the bloc’s rules on competition, but which Brussels has struggled to enforce.

The DMA imposes myriad obligations on Big Tech, including forcing Apple to open up its App Store to alternative payment systems, a demand that the iPhone maker has opposed fiercely, most notably in its feud with Epic games, the maker of Fortnite.

Google will be asked to clearly offer users of Android-run smartphones alternatives to its search engine, the Google Maps app or its Chrome browser.

A Google spokesperson told AFP that the US internet giant will “take time to study the final text and work with regulators to implement it.”

“While we support many of the DMA’s ambitions around consumer choice and interoperability, we remain concerned that some of the rules could reduce innovation and the choice available to Europeans,” the spokesperson said.

Apple would also be forced to loosen its grip on the iPhone, with users allowed to uninstall its Safari web browser and other company-imposed apps that users cannot currently delete.

In a statement, Apple swiftly expressed regret over the law, saying it was “concerned that some provisions of the DMA will create unnecessary privacy and security vulnerabilities for our users.”

After a furious campaign by influential MEPs, the law also forces messaging services such as Meta-owned WhatsApp to make themselves available to users on other services such as Signal or Apple’s iMessage, and vice versa.

France, which holds the EU presidency and negotiated on behalf of the bloc’s 27 member states, said the law would deliver “concrete impacts on the lives of European citizens.”

“We are talking about the goods you buy online, the smartphone you use every day, and the services you use every day,” said France’s digital affairs minister, Cedric O.

Stiff fines

Violation of the rules could lead to fines as high as 10% of a company’s annual global sales and even 20% for repeat offenders.

The DMA “will have a profound impact on the way some gatekeepers’ operations are currently conducted,” said lawyer Katrin Schallenberg, a partner at Clifford Chance.

“Clearly, companies affected … are already working on ways to comply with or even challenge the regulation,” she added.

The Big Tech companies have lobbied hard against the new rules and the firms have been defended in Washington, where it is alleged that the new law unfairly targets U.S. companies.

With the deal now reached by negotiators, the DMA now faces final votes in a full session of the European Parliament as well as by ministers from the EU’s 27 member states.

The rules could come into place starting Jan. 1, 2023, though tech companies are asking for more time to implement the law.

Source: Voice of America

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Cameroon Says Hospitals Overwhelmed with Cholera Patients

Cameroon’s public health ministry says a cholera outbreak is sweeping across the towns of Limbe, Buea and Tiko, near the border with Nigeria.

The government says 12 of the 600 patients rushed to hospitals in those towns died within the past 72 hours.

Nyenti Annereke, director of the Limbe government hospital, said the facility, which has a capacity of 200 beds, has received more than 240 cholera patients.

“We built three tents in Limbe hospital yesterday because patients were at the veranda, in the corridors of the wards,” he said. “All the beds were full. The Tiko district hospital, the capacity also is overpowered. The hospital in Bota is another crisis zone.”

To cope with the overflow, humanitarian workers are helping to erect tents at the hospitals in Limbe and Buea.

Still, The government says many families are rushing their sick relatives to surrounding towns, including Mutengene and Douala, a commercial hub on the Atlantic coast.

Bernard Okalia Bilai, governor of the South West region where Limbe, Tiko and Buea are located, chaired at least three crisis meetings on Wednesday.

Bilai said the cholera outbreak is caused by a shortage of clean drinking water in western towns and villages provoked by the long dry season and civilians should desist from drinking open stream water. He said the disease is spreading fast because cattle and civilians defecate in the open and in rivers.

“Our structures, the hospitals are overloaded, but thank God that the medical officers in charge of those hospitals have been proactive and they have taken measures to receive various patients,” he said. “All the patients are under treatment.”

Bilai said the government will provide water to arid towns like Limbe, Buea and Tiko and surrounding villages but did not say when.

Meanwhile, health officials are moving from door to door encouraging civilians to boil water from wells and streams before drinking it.

The government says people should also eat only properly cooked food and wash their hands before and after meals, and after using the bathroom.

Another cholera outbreak in Cameroon in February affected 1,300 people and killed about three dozen.

Source: Voice of America

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New daily Covid-19 infections skyrocket

Laos has logged 2,819 new cases of Covid-19 over the past 24 hours, the highest ever recorded on a single day basis since the first case was detected in late March 2020.

The new infections were detected among 7,010 samples tested for Covid-19 nationwide.

These included 2,776 domestic infections and 43 imported cases with most of the domestic transmissions detected in Vientiane with 1,084, Savannakhet 388, Vientiane (province) 228, Xayaboury 240, Xieng Khuang 145, Khammuan 139 and Oudomxay 87.

The total caseload of Covid-19 in the Lao PDR has reached 161,866 including 652 deaths.

Source: Lao News Agency