Global Losses From Catastrophes Reached $270 Billion in 2021

Hurricane Ida and the freakish winter storm that froze Texas last February topped last year’s list of most damaging storms, according to the annual report on insurance industry losses caused by natural catastrophes put out by reinsurance giant Swiss Re.

The report found that global economic losses from natural catastrophes such as floods, hurricanes and wildfires reached $270 billion in 2021. Of those losses, less than half, or $111 billion, were actually insured. Still, that $111 billion equaled the fourth-largest payout since the Swiss Re Institute, the insurer’s research arm, began keeping records in 1970…READ ON

Natural disasters ‘have claimed more than 3,700 lives in the UK since 2000’

The UK has recorded 3,739 deaths caused by natural disasters since 2000.

Research from Outforia found that of these fatalities around 3,626 were caused by extreme temperatures.

The authors of the report compared casualties from record high temperatures in the UK to those registered around the world and found that the UK comes in eighth place ahead of Portugal and the Netherlands.

When it comes to overall impact, the study estimates around 434,413 have been affected in the UK by flooding and 61,088 by storms since 2000.

Last month, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said the stakes for the planet have never been higher…READ ON