2010 was a bad year for floods, natural disasters
According to the reinsurer Swiss Re, 2010 saw a tripling of monetary losses around the world due to disasters both man-made and natural:
According to initial estimates from Swiss Reâ??s sigma team, worldwide economic losses from natural catastrophes and man-made disasters were USD 222 billion in 2010, more than triple the 2009 figure of USD 63 billion. The cost to the global insurance industry was USD 36 billion, an increase of 34% over the previous year. Approximately 260 000 people died in these events, the highest number since 1976.In 2010, severe catastrophes claimed significantly more lives than the previous year: nearly 260,000 were killed, compared to 15,000 in 2009. The deadliest event in 2010 was the Haiti earthquake in January, claiming more than 222,000 lives. Approximately 15 000 people died during the summer heat wave in Russia. The summer floods in China and Pakistan also resulted in 6,225 deaths.
The German reinsurance firm Munich Re seconded this assessment, noting that 2010 had been an "exceptional" year for weather-related disasters.
Good times.
