Disasters cost US$218b
Source: Agencies |
March 30, 2011, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE economic cost of natural and man-made disasters jumped threefold to US$218 billion in 2010 from US$68 billion the previous year, with earthquakes the main cause of death and destruction, insurer Swiss Reinsurance Co said yesterday.
Some 304,000 people died in disasters last year, a sharp rise from 15,000 in 2009. Haiti's earthquake alone claimed 222,000 lives, while almost 56,000 people were killed by Russia's summer heatwave and over 6,200 people died from floods in China and Pakistan.
The Zurich-based company said insurers bore US$43 billion of the cost of disasters last year, a 60 percent annual increase. The earthquakes in Chile and New Zealand had insured losses of over US$12 billion, it said. Eight other disasters, including storms in the United States, Germany, France and Australia cost insurers more than US$1 billion last year.
The only man-made catastrophe to make the costliest top 10 was the Deepwater Horizon explosion that caused a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
In its annual report, Swiss Re forecast losses from recent quakes in New Zealand and Japan will make 2011 another costly year for insurers.
Swiss Re's chief economist Thomas Hess also pointed out that many developing countries have poor disaster insurance coverage.
Some 304,000 people died in disasters last year, a sharp rise from 15,000 in 2009. Haiti's earthquake alone claimed 222,000 lives, while almost 56,000 people were killed by Russia's summer heatwave and over 6,200 people died from floods in China and Pakistan.
The Zurich-based company said insurers bore US$43 billion of the cost of disasters last year, a 60 percent annual increase. The earthquakes in Chile and New Zealand had insured losses of over US$12 billion, it said. Eight other disasters, including storms in the United States, Germany, France and Australia cost insurers more than US$1 billion last year.
The only man-made catastrophe to make the costliest top 10 was the Deepwater Horizon explosion that caused a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
In its annual report, Swiss Re forecast losses from recent quakes in New Zealand and Japan will make 2011 another costly year for insurers.
Swiss Re's chief economist Thomas Hess also pointed out that many developing countries have poor disaster insurance coverage.
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