Submitted by KBA
“Natural disaster” damage hits a 4-year high: Munich Re
Disasters caused $175 billion of damage in 2016, the highest level since 2012, reported Munich Re.
- $125 billion of losses (71%) were uninsured.
Disaster claims last year cost the insurers about $50 billion, nearly double 2015’s payout of $27 billion.
- Ten-year average: $45 billion
Casualties from the disasters in 2016 were 8,700 fatalities compared with 25,400 in 2015.
- Ten-year average: 60,600
Asia
Kyushu, Japan, was hit by two earthquakes in April inflicting costs of $31 billion, while floods in China in June and July cost $20 billion.
North America
North America experienced 160 disasters, its largest total since 1980. Wildfires, heatwaves and droughts plagued Canada, costing about $4 billion, while flooding in the southern US caused $10 billion in damage.
Hurricane Matthew, the worst disaster in the region, killed 550 people in Haiti alone and caused $10.2 billion of damage.
Europe
Summer storms across Europe triggered flooding with damage costing a total of $6 billion, in Germany as well as the French capital Paris.
- Floods accounted for 34 percent of all losses globally.