Aon Benfield released the latest edition of its Monthly Cat Recap report, which reviews the natural disaster perils that occurred worldwide during July.
Published by Impact Forecasting, the firm’s catastrophe model development center of excellence, the report reveals that the month was characterized by an increase in global tropic cyclone activity as the calendar turns to the Atlantic Hurricane Season reaching its historical peak of activity.
The most prolific storm, Typhoon Nock-ten, made separate landfalls in the Philippines, China and Vietnam, killing at least 72 people, and injuring 53 others, amid total economic losses estimated at USD113 million.
Meanwhile, Typhoon Ma-on made a brief landfall on Japan’s Shikoku Island, killing at least five people, injuring dozens more, and causing a total economic loss estimated at JPY3.9 billion (USD50 million).
Steve Jakubowski, President of Impact Forecasting, said: “During the month of July we began to see an uptick in global tropical cyclone activity. This is not surprising, given that we are approaching the traditional peak period of the Atlantic Hurricane Season during the months of August and September. Several parts of Asia were particularly affected by tropical cyclones during the month in the Northwest Pacific Basin, but the level of losses will probably be in line with reinsurers’ expectations.””
During July, monsoon rains prompted continued flooding throughout parts of Asia. In China, four separate periods of heavy rainfall and thunderstorms across 20 provinces killed at least 122 people, and subsequent floods and landslides affected more than 300,000 homes, as well as thousands of hectares of crops and transportation infrastructure.
Total combined direct economic losses were listed at CNY12.41 billion (USD1.73 billion) by the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
Significant flooding and landslides were also witnessed in South Korea, where at least 62 people were killed and dozens more were injured in central regions of the country. According to the National Emergency Management Agency, at least 11,000 homes were inundated, as well as large areas of infrastructure.
Total economic losses were expected to reach hundreds of millions of dollars (USD), and South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service noted that at least 5,839 auto claims had already been filed, with payouts forecast to exceed KRW40.3 billion (USD38.3 million).
Additional notable flood events during the month were reported in Mexico, Brazil, Denmark and Australia.
The United States endured at least four periods of severe weather in July, particularly across parts of the Midwest, Plains and the Rockies. Total combined economic losses were preliminarily listed at USD1.3 billion, while insured losses were a combined USD900 million.
Severe weather damage was also found in parts of Australia and Russia’s Far East.
A magnitude-6.1 earthquake struck southern areas of Kyrgyzstan on July 19. The tremor killed at least 14 people near the intersection of the borders of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, with total economic losses of KSG414 million (USD9.3 million).
Source : Aon Benfield
