Abstract. Understanding risk using a quantitative risk assessment offers critical information for risk-informed reduction actions, investing in building resilience, and planning for adaptation. This study develops an event-based probabilistic risk assessment model for livestock snow disasters in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) region and derives risk assessment results based on historical climate conditions (1980–2015) and present-day prevention capacity. In the model a hazard module was developed to identify/simulate individual snow disaster events based on boosted regression trees. Together with a fitted quantitative vulnerability function, and exposure derived from vegetation type and grassland carrying capacity, risk metrics based on livestock mortality and mortality rate were estimated. In our results, high risk regions include the Nyainqêntanglha Range, Tanggula Range, Bayankhar Mountains and the region between the Kailas Range and neighboring Himalayas. In these regions, annual livestock mortality rates were estimated as > 2 % and mortality was estimated as > 2 sheep unit/km2 at a return period of 1/20 a. Prefectures identified with extremely high risk included Yushu in Qinghai Province and Naqu, Shigatse, Linzhi, and Nagri in the Tibet Autonomous Region. In these prefectures, a snow disaster event with return period of 1/20 a or higher can easily claim a total loss of more than 200 000 sheep units. Our results provide a quantitative reference for preparedness and insurance solutions in reducing mortality risk. The methodology developed here can be further adapted to future climate change risk analyses and provide important information for planning climate change adaption in the QTP region.
PRAMIS: Probabilistic Risk Assessment Model Integration System
