Floods affect more people than any other natural disaster globally. With Hurricane Sandy poised to bring record storm surges across the Northeast, the threat of coastal and inland flooding may impact millions of people. Therefore, understanding flood behavior and insurance coverage implications is more crucial than ever—for the public and risk and insurance professionals alike.

With this in mind, Swiss Re has released a flood app for the iPad. Built on the global reinsurer's flood risk research, the app, which is downloadable from the iTunes store for free, incorporates the latest insights into risk models as well as hazard information for any location worldwide (via the Swiss Re Global Flood Zones™ tool).

In addition to providing a primer on how storm surges are created, the app explains how to manage and insure such risks while underscoring the necessity of disaster preparedness. Professionals in the risk and insurance industries are obvious users. However, Swiss Re says the general public and students especially will find it a useful tool in familiarizing themselves with flood behavior, as it includes a host of interactive features to "give readers a feel for the dimensions of flood disasters."