User:Jason Rees/Cyclone Val
Impact
The cyclone affected a total of seven island nation and territories of the South Pacific, with overall damage being estimated at over $400 million. The worst affected area was Samoa with damage equal to more than twice the gross domestic product of the island nation.[1]
Western Samoa
Cyclone Val was the most destructive hurricane to strike Western Samoa, since the 1889 Apia cyclone which had struck the islands 102 years before.[2]
The destruction caused by Val was primarily caused by high winds, heavy rains and high waves.[1] Wind damage associated with the system was severe because of the duration of the cyclone and the shifting wind direction as the cyclone passed through the islands.[1] Destructive winds and windborne debris wreaked heavy damage to crops, natural vegetation, buildings and related structures.[1] Heavy rains caused flooding that damaged the environment and infrastructure, including roads and dams. High waves considerably damaged coastal areas and structures.[1] The final damage total was estimated to be about US$300 million, which was equal to more than twice the gross domestic product of Samoa.[1]
Some of the facilities of the American Samoa observatory were damaged.[3]
The cyclone destroyed over 65% of the residential homes on American Samoa and even more on the Samoan islands of
The damage caused by Cyclone Val was severe, as it occurred 18 months after Cyclone Ofa (February 1990). Food production was halted; forests were damaged, and animals and birds were lost. The forest loss was as severe as 45% of Savai'i's timber logs. The damage that Cyclone Val caused over the entire region of Samoa was reported to be US$ 368 million.[11]
People were devoid of electricity for weeks and water supply for many days and depended on emergency aid. In Western Samoa (islands of Savai'i, Manono and Upolu), the percentage of damaged houses was as high as 80%.[12] Val was reported as the worst cyclone to hit the Samoas in 100 years (since the 1889 hurricane), as measured by the intensity of the wind and the severity of the damage it caused to the islands.[13]
Aftermath
American Samoa
The
Law suit
In 1991, American Samoa purchased a $45 million "all risk" insurance policy from the firm Affiliated FM Insurance. The firm would only pay up to $6.1 million for the damages, arguing that the insurance did not cover water damage, only that caused by the wind.[5] Attorney William Shernoff investigated and discovered that the insurance company had altered American Samoa's insurance policy to exclude damages caused by "wind-driven water", despite the fact that it still covered cyclones.[5] The case was taken to court, and in 1995, the jury awarded the American Samoa Government $28.9 million. Soon after, the amount was doubled to $57.8 million to include punitive damages. The total damages awarded by the judgment was $86.7 million, which the judge stated to be "the largest insurance bad faith verdict in the state of California in 1995".[5]
The revenues of American Samoa for the fiscal years 2002 and 2003, which had been showing a downward trend, registered a substantial increase attributed to the insurance settlement of claims made to cover the damages caused by Cyclone Val. This resulted in fiscal surpluses. The deficit of US $23.1 million at the start of 2001 changed to a surplus of US $43.2 million by end of 2003.[17]
References
- ^ ISBN 982-364-006-8.
- ^ National Disaster Council (December 13, 1991). Preliminary Damage Assessment Report for Cyclone Val, 6 - 9 December, 1991 (PDF) (Report). Government of Western Samoa. Retrieved January 20, 2014.
- ^ "Observatory History". 1991. Earth System Research Laboratory. Retrieved December 17, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference
LDS
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference
Shernoff
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Fagatele Bay Marine Sanctuary". Research and Monitoring. Official Site of the Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Retrieved December 17, 2010.
- ^ Stanley, p. 475
- ^ Stanley, pp. 475–477
- ^ Stanley, p. 480
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
south
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Ward, pp. 20–21
- ^ "Storm of the Century Devastates the Samoas for the Second Year Running". Greenpeace.org. Retrieved December 17, 2010.
- ^ Ward, pp. 17–21
- ^ "FEMA posts 11 disaster declarations for territory over last 40 yrs". Samoanews. Thursday November 4, 2010. Retrieved December 18, 2010.
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(help) - ISBN 0-930773-25-X. Retrieved December 17, 2010.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Disaster
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ISBN 1-4223-1153-8. Retrieved December 17, 2010.