A fully probabilistic earthquake risk assessment study was carried out for fifteen Pacific Island Countries (PICs):
Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Republic of Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palau,
Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. This article presents an
overview of the assets exposed to risk and the main findings of the study. The seismic hazard component of the
study is discussed in a companion paper (Rong et al., 2012). The risk is measured both in terms of impact on
population (casualties and fatalities) and on direct economic losses to residential, commercial, industrial and
public buildings and to major infrastructure assets. These country-specific earthquake risk profiles can support
multiple applications that benefit both public and private stakeholders, such as urban development planning,
community-based earthquake risk management and mitigation, post-disaster damage assessments, and disaster
risk financing.