Largest ‘Natural Disasters’ in 2014 Cost $110B: Munich Re

2014 Costliest Catastrophes: Cyclone HUDHUD, Storms, Floods, Earthquake, Drought

Some 980 disasters left at least 7,700 people dead globally and cost about $110 billion in damages, according to Munich Re.

The five costliest ‘natural catastrophes’ were Cyclone HUDHUD in India (cost of $7 billion), winter damage in Japan ( $5.9 billion), floods in India & Pakistan ($5.1 billion), earthquake in China ($5 billion) and drought in Brazil ($5 billion), said the reinsurance company based in Munich, Germany.

The greatest losses in North America last year were due to an unusually cold winter, with heavy frost lasting for weeks in many parts of the USA and Canada, as well as heavy snowfalls and blizzards, especially on the East Coast, said a report.

Total cost of damage and the economic loss from a magnitude 6.0 earthquake that struck Napa Valley, California on 24 August was more than $700m.

[Source: Münchener Rückversicherungs – Gesellschaft, Geo Risks Research, NatCatSERVICE]

[NOTE: The above report by Munich Re appears to be limited in scope. FIRE-EARTH]

Agricultural Disaster Declared in 14 States

138 Counties in 14 states have been declared agricultural disaster areas

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated 138 counties (includes 1 Parish) across 14 states as agricultural disaster areas in 6 separate declarations.

[The figure includes both primary and contiguous disaster areas.]

Drought Disaster

USDA has designated 55 counties in five states as agricultural disaster areas due to  damages and losses caused by the ongoing drought. Those areas are

• California:  Alameda, El Dorado, Placer, Solano, Alpine, Glenn, Plumas, Sonoma, Amador, Lake, Sacramento, Sutter, Butte, Marin, San Mateo, Tehama, Colusa, Napa, Santa Cruz, Yolo, Contra Costa, Nevada, Sierra, Yuba, Calaveras, Monterey, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Lassen, San Benito, Santa Clara, Trinity, Mendocino, San Francisco, Shasta, Tuolumne and  Mono counties.

• Nevada: Douglas, Carson City and Washoe counties.

• Texas: Camp, Gregg, Marion, Titus, Cass, Harrison, Morris, Upshur, Bowie, Panola, Rusk, Wood, Franklin, Red River and Smith counties.

• Arkansas: Miller County.

• Louisiana: Caddo Parish.

Agricultural Disaster Designations due to the Drought

At least 1,333 counties across 28 states have now been designated agricultural disaster areas due to the ongoing drought so far this year. [The figure includes both the primary and contiguous drought disaster areas. ]

U.S. Drought Disaster Map as of August 21, 2013. At least 1,333 counties, or 42.41% of all U.S. counties*, were designated as agricultural disaster areas due to the ongoing drought, a net rise of 0.41%  since last week. [The figure includes both primary and contiguous disaster designations.] Source: USDA. Map enhanced by FIRE-EARTH.

Flood Disaster

USDA has declared 41 counties in three states–Florida, Alabama, Georgia–as agricultural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by excessive rain and flooding that occurred June 4 – August 1, 2013. Those counties are

• Florida: Bay, Citrus, Gadsden, Madison, Calhoun, Clay, Liberty, Marion, Putnam, St. Johns, Santa Rosa, Taylor, Alachua, Columbia, Gilchrist, Jackson, Baker, Dixie, Hamilton, Lafayette, Bradford, Duval, Holmes, Levy, Nassau, Okaloosa, Suwannee, Union, Walton and Washington counties.
  

• Alabama: Covington, Escambia, Geneva and Houston counties.

• Georgia: Camden, Clinch, Lowndes, Ware, Charlton, Echols and  Seminole counties.

Freeze Disaster

USDA has declared 23 counties in three states–Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma–as agricultural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by a freeze that occurred April 1 – May 10, 2013. Those counties are

• Kansas: Grant, Meade, Stanton, Haskell, Morton, Stevens, Kearny, Seward, Wichita, Clark, Gray, Logan, Finney, Greeley, Scott, Ford, Hamilton and Wallace counties.

• Colorado: Baca and Prowers counties.

• Oklahoma: Beaver, Cimarron and Texas counties.

Hailstorm Disaster

USDA has declared 9 counties in three states–Montana, Idaho, Wyoming–as agricultural disaster areas due to losses caused by a hailstorm August 1, 2013. Those counties are

• Montana: Gallatin, Broadwater, Jefferson, Madison, Meagher and Park counties.

• Idaho: Fremont County.

• Wyoming: Park and Teton counties.

Disaster Caused by Extreme Cold

USDA has designated 8 counties  in Idaho as a agricultural disaster areas due to losses caused by freezing temperatures that occurred April 14 – May 24, 2013.

Those counties are Gem, Ada, Adams, Boise, Canyon, Payette, Valley and Washington.

Related Links

• U.S. Drought Expands  August 22, 2013
• U.S. Drought Map – August 13, 2013
• Drought Disaster Declared in 37 Counties Across 5 States August 15, 2013
• Agricultural Disaster Declared for Dozens of U.S. Counties August 8, 2013
• U-S Drought 2013: Fueled by Heat from Hell? January 31, 2013 [FIRE-EARTH Forecast]
• US: Drought Disaster 2013 [Index Page]
• Agricultural Disasters Index

Disaster Calendar – 13 April 2012

DISASTER CALENDAR SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,433 Days Left

Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016. SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,433 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar: Collapse has already Begun

Disaster Calendar – 12 April 2012

Disaster Calendar 2012 – April 12

Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,434 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar: Collapse has already Begun

Disaster Calendar 2012 – April 11

Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,435 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar: Collapse has already Begun

The Climate Change Crusades

Are YOU a Climate Change Crusader?
How Do YOU Fight Climate Change?
Should YOU Crusade Against the Climate Change, or just STOP heating the globe?

A Shrinking World Series

Make No Mistake: Nature Always Has the Last Word!

Midwest Flood Update:

A dam near the Wisconsin Dells resort area broke on Monday, causing mudslides that swept away homes, as torrential rains caused more flooding across the U.S. Midwest.

Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle declared a state of emergency in 30 counties in the south of the state. In Iowa, where 33 counties were flooded, and Indiana, where flooding forced hundreds of people to evacuate homes in the central and western parts of the state, similar declarations have been made. Parts of Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota have been affected by flooding.

“This is an area that’s been bombarded with rain over the weekend, anywhere from 5 to 10 inches, and you’re dealing with saturated soils. So any rain that falls becomes run-off,” the National Weather Service’s Pat Slattery said.

OUCH! Too Close to the bank! Like the Kubeniks and the Pekars (see image caption), rivers are “living” creatures; they need room to complete their cycle of life!

The homes of the Kubeniks (R) and the Pekars are damaged after a dam broke at man-made Lake Delton, Wisconsin June 9 2008. REUTERS/Allen Fredrickson. Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice.

“Flood damage estimated in the tens of millions of dollars were being added to recent storm damage in Iowa, including a tornado that flattened the town of Parkersburg two weeks ago.” Reuters reported.

In Iowa:

• The water treatment plant in Mason City was swamped by the Winnebago River.
• Three of four bridges in the town of Charles City were swept away by flooding of the Cedar River.
• The town of New Hartford was evacuated.

Corn and soybean fields were submerged under the floodwater in Midwestern states. Iowa and Illinois account for about 35% of U.S. corn and soybeans, usually the world’s largest harvests of those crops. However, the prospects of a bumper crop year were further eroded, following a wet spring that had already delayed planting. (Source)

Related Video:

• Home washed away in floods [like a matchbox!]

Related Links:

• US Tornado Brief
• UN Hypocrisy: Kick the CO2 Habit!
• Will California turn to desert by 2011?

• Italy: Submerged in Floodwaters, Sinking in Garbage

• Failing Ecosystems
• State of the World
• Future Scenarios
• First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
  
• Nuking Earth for Lifestyle

• Giga Trends
• World Problems: The Root Cause Matrix
• Tipping Point
• Topsoil
• Drying Aquifers, Sinking Cities

• The Economy
• Energy
• Food Security
• Future in the Making: A Shrinking World

• Flood Puts City in Iowa ‘at God’s Mercy’ Iowa, June 12, 2008
  

The World’s one harvest from starvation!