Last May, China suffered an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.9. While the epicenter of that earthquake was approximately 1,000 miles from Beijing, there have been earthquakes within 100 miles of the city as recently as 1976. Earthquakes and other natural disasters, such as floods or typhoons, are covered in the IOC’s policies. There have also been many reports regarding Beijing’s poor air quality. Chinese officials have taken several steps to reduce the amount of smog, including limiting the number of vehicles on local roads. The policies obtained by the IOC, however, do not provide coverage for air pollution because the IOC intends to rely on its prior experience with rescheduling events due to weather if they are forced to reschedule an event due to poor air quality.
Of great concern to IOC officials are potential disruptions from protestors and/or terrorists that could cause the Olympic Games to be cancelled. China’s policies on Tibet and human rights have led to numerous protests. Last March, there were anti-Chinese riots in Tibet’s capital city, and last April, the Chinese government stated that suicide attacks by Tibetan separatist groups could occur during the games. Furthermore, the Olympic torch relay was interrupted several times by Tibetan protestors, and more protests are planned for the 18 days of Olympic Games. The policies purchased by the IOC would cover losses related to these types of events should they be severe enough to cause the Olympic Games to be cancelled.