Losses and expenditures caused by extreme events in Poland

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present problems related to the assessment of losses and expenditures caused by weather and climate-related events in Poland. Design/methodology/approach – The data were collected by the direct questionnaire method from selected national and regional/local administration units. Findings – The direct losses in 2001-2011 were estimated at more than PLN56 billion. The greatest losses were estimated in agriculture and infrastructure. The total amount of losses were estimated at PLN90 billion. In 2001-2011, more than PLN45 billion was spent in Poland on recovery and prevention of the impacts of extreme events, with a large part of it consisting of damages and benefits paid out by insurance companies. Research limitations/implications – Given the limitations related to the method for collecting information, the results may be underestimated. It is well-advised to consider information on such a type of uncertainty in the course of the future research. Practical implications – The results are of large importance for the building of public awareness and the making of political and investment-related decisions. Originality/value – The estimates given in the paper are the first presentation of losses and expenditures caused by all the extreme events in the Polish territory which has been prepared on the basis of so many official information sources. The determination of “bottlenecks” related to the existing method for collecting information is a first step toward its improvement.