THEflood in Emilia Romagna is the third natural disaster – after Syria and Türkiye – by the amount of economic damage globally. The Prevention economic losses resulting from natural disasters, globally, in the first half of 2023 reached i 194 billion dollars, or already 60% of the global average annual total. Are the accounts drawn up by the risk management group One according to which it is the fifth highest loss on record and the largest since 2011.
In addition, global losses were the fourth-highest on record at $53 billion and rose due to strong convective storms in the United States.
Worldwide insured losses from natural catastrophes in the first half of 2023 totaled $53 billion, preliminarily exceeding the 46st century average by 21 percent. The Risk Management Group then reports that catastrophe costs continued to suffer pressure inflationary, still persistent in many parts of the world, as well as other social factors, including demographics and wealth distribution, which remain a major driver of financial loss.
Türkiye and Syria: the deadliest global disaster since 2010
I earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria in the first quarter of 2023, they were responsible for nearly half of total economic losses, estimated at $91 billion, making it the deadliest global disaster since 2010 and the costliest in both countries' modern history. EMEA's economic losses were as a result unprecedented at $111 billion, far surpassing the past first-half record of $71 billion set in 1990. This total makes the event l 'XNUMXth most expensive disaster ever globally on a price-inflated basis.
“Despite the fact that communities globally are at risk from natural disasters, only about 27% of economic losses this year were insured. These devastating events reinforce the importance of resilience and risk mitigation, such as building code enforcement, evidenced by the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria,” he said. Michal Lörinc, head of Aon's Catastrophe Insight”.
Below is the ranking of the 10 most disastrous natural events of the first half of 2023.
Severe US connective storms dominated global losses
If the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria were the most expensive from an insurance point of view, the storms severe convections (SCS) in the United States they dominated global losses during this period. In the first half of the year, SCS's US business was responsible for at least 13 individual $35 billion events and $XNUMX billion in preliminary total insured losses, setting a new first half record.
Natural disasters, Italy among the most vulnerable countries in Europe
"Extreme climatic events with very severe consequences also occurred in our country in the first few months of the year, such as the flood in Emilia-Romagna", commented Pietro Toffanello, managing director of Aon Reinsurance Italia. "From a study carried out by the Disaster Risk Management Knowledge Center of the Joint Research Center of the European Commission (Vulnerability to Disasters in Europe. A 30-year analysis of the vulnerability of European countries. Risk Data Hub - October 11, 2022) it emerged that the Italy is among the most vulnerable countries to natural disasters in Europe, with Calabria among the most fragile regions of the boot. It therefore becomes increasingly urgent to start a close collaboration between the various subjects involved, from institutions to the insurance sector, for the environmental and social protection of our country and the most fragile ones, through initiatives for the protection of the territories".
Other highlights of the Report include:
• Two consecutive extreme events hit the North Island of New Zealand over three weeks in the first quarter of 2023: the remains of the Cyclone Gabriel and the serious ones floods in Auckland. These events ranked as the fifth and sixth most expensive insured loss events in New Zealand, surpassed only by the 2010, 2011 and 2016 earthquakes.
• Prolonged forest fires in several Canadian provinces have resulted in the burning of more than 10 million hectares of land, while the thick plumes of smoke created dangerous weather conditions, with potentially significant impacts on the health of tens of millions of people across North America.
• Although some populated areas have been affected by theTantallon fire – particularly on the outskirts of Halifax, in Nova Scotia – with economic losses estimated in the hundreds of millions, the vast majority of fires did not cause significant material damage to properties.
• Significant heat waves have occurred all over the world, resulting in extremely high sea water surface temperatures: the temperature registered this year were the higher than any previous year since 1981. In the first half of 2023, some areas experienced water temperatures up to 5 ̊ Celsius, or 9 ̊ Fahrenheit, higher than usual. This trend is also continuing in the second half of the year.
