Approximately 75% of the world’s population and half of the least developed countries are exposed to extreme events such as earthquakes, flooding and cyclones. $100 to $500 billion are lost every year due to hurricanes, earthquakes and floods. Bigger storms and floods, and growing urbanization will only make these numbers climb higher. While the scientific community debates on how much of this dramatic growth should be attributed to global warming, everyone is in agreement that the amount of funding required to respond to the consequences of major floods and storms is on the rise.

While natural disasters cannot be prevented, much can be done with technology to reduce the loss of life and lessen their financial impact. The increased sophistication of Natural Disasters forecasting, Preparation, Response & Relief capabilities promote “high-end”/”high value-added” equipment and systems solutions. As such, HSRC forecasts increased market requirements for integrated Natural Disasters Preparation, Response & Relief solutions interoperability/interconnectivity (i.e., favoring prime suppliers expertise in systems integration), and post disaster recovery (e.g., Decontamination of HAZMAT)

Market opportunities will also emerge from high growth sectors including data fusion systems, flood recovery equipment and earthquake search and rescue equipment.