Monday, January 10, 2022
Storms, floods, earthquakes
The forces of nature caused severe damage in 2021
There are many natural disasters in 2021. From flash floods to volcanic eruptions – the lives of countless people around the world are affected, with damage amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars, according to a report.
According to an analysis by Munich Re, 2021 joins the worrying long-term trend of increasing destruction from natural disasters. Worldwide storms, floods and other natural hazards caused damage of 280 billion US dollars last year, as the reinsurer announced. According to Munich Re, less than half of this was insured at $ 120 billion.
In addition to the costs of the corona pandemic, the industry had to pay for damage last year caused by hurricanes, tornadoes, cold snaps, flash floods after heavy rain, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. This means that second place in 2021 is shared with 2005 and 2011. Only in 2017 was the loss burden higher for the industry at 146 billion US dollars. “The catastrophe statistics for 2021 are striking. Because many of the extreme weather events are among those that are becoming more frequent or more severe due to climate change,” said Munich Re chief climatologist Ernst Rauch. These included severe thunderstorms in the USA also in the winter half-year, heavy rain with floods in Europe and hurricanes with extreme precipitation. “Adapting to increasing risks from climate change will be a challenge.”
Hurricane “Ida” was the most expensive
The costliest natural disaster was Hurricane Ida in 2021, which cost the insurance industry $ 36 billion. According to Munich Re, the unusual cold spell in the USA in February 2021 cost the industry around 15 billion dollars. In total, the United States accounted for 85 billion of the insured losses last year. In Europe and Germany, the flash floods after heavy rain in July were the most expensive natural disaster to date since the survey began; According to Munich Re, it cost the industry 11 billion euros across Europe, of which Germany accounted for 8.2 billion euros, according to the Association of the German Insurance Industry (GDV).
The total economic damage in 2021 was significantly higher than the insured damage, which at a total of 280 billion dollars worldwide was significantly more than twice as high as the insured. Overall, according to the Munich Re balance sheet, 2021 is in fourth place since the beginning of the survey. The record year was 2011 with a total loss of 355 billion US dollars. Of the total damage, the United States accounted for $ 145 billion, or almost 70 percent.
The flash floods after heavy rain in Europe and Germany caused total damage of 46 billion euros (54 billion US dollars) or 33 billion euros in Germany alone. According to Munich Re, the reason was that the flash floods on tributaries such as the Ahr tore away countless buildings and caused great damage to infrastructure such as railway lines, roads and bridges. This infrastructure damage was uninsured. The situation with the volcanic eruption on La Palma is similar. Munich Re estimates the total loss at EUR 850 million, of which “only a small portion is likely to be insured”.