This paper describes a study undertaken in three coastal cities of Asia — Mumbai, Bangkok and Manila — to assess the impacts of extreme weather events and measure the physical, economic and social impacts of the resultant massive floods in these cities. The focus of this paper is on estimating the uninsured losses resulting from extreme precipitation events, which normally do not get accounted for in the absence of data. The study has analysed primary data collected from households, farms and small commercial and industrial establishments located in flood-affected areas in the three cities. The information collected through the surveys has been supplemented with secondary data to identify and measure impacts such as damage to property and infrastructure, damage to stocks like physical capital, inventory and indirect impacts on flows like income, investment, employment and disruption of essential services. The findings have significant policy implications for integrating adaptation strategies with long-term development plans for the coastal cities.
Peer-reviewed publication