FM Global releases earthquake map

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The map is designed to help business executives improve the resilience of their global supply chain

FM Global has released an Earthquake Map to help business executives improve the resilience of their global supply chains.

In Europe, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Italy have all seen above-average movement to higher risk zones, based on the incorporation of the map into the insurer’s broader natural hazards map.

The map directly incorporates soil effects and building structural performance to map the return times of ground motions that will damage weak buildings. This allows organisations to consistently compare earthquake risk across the globe.

“The majority of global businesses have locations, suppliers, or customers in earthquake zones but lack a complete picture of the risk,” said Brion Callori, senior vice president and manager, engineering and research at FM Global. “To business leaders, the seismology of an earthquake is less salient than the property damage and business disruption that can result.”

The map employs data and seismic hazard models resulting from their longstanding partnership with the Global Earthquake Model (GEM) Foundation, a nonprofit, public-private partnership that drives a global collaborative effort to develop scientific and high-quality resources for transparent assessment of earthquake risk.

In China, a hazard model jointly developed by FM Global and the China Earthquake Administration is used, and in the United States, a new hazard model by the US Geological Survey is utilised.

The earthquake map is a layer in the company’s omnibus natural hazards map, which also displays climate risks such as flood and hail. Regions fall into zones based on the return periods of damaging ground motion: every 50 years, 100 years, 250 years, 500 years and >500 years.

Based on the new map, some regions of the world will see above-average movement to higher risk zones, including: