Catastrophes: Global
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WORLD'S DEADLIEST CATASTROPHES
The death toll from the May, 2008 cyclone that hit Myanmar is expected to be in the tens of thousands, which would make the natural disaster the deadliest since December 2004 when 220,000 were killed by a tsunami that swept across South Asia.
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THE TEN DEADLIEST WORLD CATASTROPHES, 1970-2007 (1)
($ millions)
Rank |
Date |
Country |
Event |
Victims |
| 1 | Nov. 14, 1970 | Bangladesh | Storm and flood | 300,000 |
| 2 | Jul. 28, 1976 | China | Earthquake (magnitude 7.5) | 255,000 |
| 3 | Dec. 26, 2004 | Indonesia, Thailand et al. | Earthquake (magnitude 9), tsunami in Indian Ocean | 220,000 |
| 4 | Apr. 29, 1991 | Bangladesh | Tropical cyclone Gorky | 138,000 |
| 5 | Oct. 8, 2005 | Pakistan, India, Afghanistan | Earthquake (magnitude 7.6); aftershocks, landslides | 73,300 |
| 6 | May 31, 1970 | Peru | Earthquake (magnitude 7.7); landslides | 66,000 |
| 7 | Jun. 21, 1990 | Iran | Earthquake (magnitude 7.7); landslides | 40,000 |
| 8 | Jun. 1, 2003 | France, Italy, Germany at al. | Heat wave and drought in Europe | 35,000 |
| 9 | Dec. 26, 2003 | Iran | Earthquake (magnitude 6.5) destroys 85% of Bam | 26,271 |
| 10 | Dec. 7, 1988 | Armenia, ex-USSR | Earthquake (magnitude 6.9) | 25,000 |
(1) Dead and missing.
Source: Swiss Re, sigma, No. 1/2008. |
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THE TEN DEADLIEST WORLD CATASTROPHES, 2007 (1)
($ millions)
Rank |
Date |
Country |
Event |
Victims |
| 1 | Nov. 15 | Bengladesh, India | Cyclone Sidr with winds up to 240 km/h; floods | 4,234 |
| 2 | Jul. 16 | Bangladesh, India | Floods caused by heavy rain | 1,500 |
| 3 | Aug. 2 | Bangladesh | Floods and landslides caused by monsoon rains | 678 |
| 4 | Aug. 7 | North Korea | Floods caused by heavy rain | 600 |
| 5 | Dec. 30 | Kenya | Riots, arson after disputed election results | 600 |
| 6 | Jun. 19 | Hungary, Romania, Greece et al. | Heat wave in Southern Europe | 550 |
| 7 | Aug. 15 | Peru | Earthquake (magnitude 8), more than 300 aftershocks | 519 |
| 8 | Jun. 26 | Pakislan | Cyclone Yemyin: heavy rain, floods | 340 |
| 9 | Jan.1 | Bangladesh, India, Nepal el al. | Cold wave with temperatures falling to near freezing | 280 |
| 10 | Sep. 2 | Nicaragua, Honduras et al. | Hurricane Felix with winds up to 260 km/h; floods | 232 |
| (1) Dead and missing.
Source: Swiss Re, sigma, No. 1/2008. |
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WORLD INSURANCE LOSSES
Insured losses span a wide range of catastrophes from weather-related events such as windstorms and floods to man-made disasters such as riots and satellite failures. Outside the United States, natural disaster losses are less likely to be insured.
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THE TEN MOST COSTLY WORLD INSURANCE LOSSES, 1970-2007 (1)
($ millions)
Rank |
Date |
Country |
Event |
Insured loss in 2007 U.S. dollars (2) |
| 1 | Aug. 25, 2005 | Hurricane Katrina; floods, dams burst, damage to oil rigs | U.S., Gulf of Mexico, Bahamas, North Atlantic | $68,515 |
| 2 | Aug. 23, 1992 | Hurricane Andrew; floods | U.S., Bahamas | 23,654 |
| 3 | Sep. 11, 2001 | Terrorist attacks on WTC, Pentagon and other buildings | U.S. | 21,999 |
| 4 | Jan. 17, 1994 | Northridge earthquake (magnitude 6.6) | U.S. | 19,593 |
| 5 | Sep. 2, 2004 | Hurricane Ivan; damage to oil rigs | U.S., Carribean: Barbados et al. | 14,115 |
| 6 | Oct. 19, 2005 | Hurricane Wilma; torrential rain, floods | U.S., Mexico, Jamaica, Haiti et al. | 13,339 |
| 7 | Sep. 20, 2005 | Hurricane Rita; floods, damage to oil rigs | U.S., Gulf of Mexico, Cuba | 10,704 |
| 8 | Aug. 11, 2004 | Hurricane Charley | U.S., Cuba, Jamaica et al. | 8,840 |
| 9 | Sep. 27, 1991 | Typhoon Mireille/No. 19 | Japan | 8,599 |
| 10 | Sep. 15, 1989 | Hurricane Hugo | US, Puerto Rico et al. | 7,650 |
(1) Property and business interruption losses, excluding life and liability losses. Includes flood losses in the United States insured via the National Flood Insurance Program.
(2) Adjusted to 2007 dollars by Swiss Re.
Note: Loss data shown here may differ from figures shown elsewhere for the same event due to differences in the date of publication, the geographical area covered and other criteria used by organizations collecting the data.
Source: Swiss Re, sigma, No. 1/2008. |
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THE 20 MOST COSTLY WORLD INSURANCE LOSSES, 2007 (1)
($ millions)
Rank |
Date |
Location |
Event |
Insured loss in U.S. dollars |
| 1 | Jan. 18 | Germany, U.K., Netherlands, Belgium et al. | Winter storm Kyrill with winds up to 190 km/h; floods | $6,097 |
| 2 | Jun. 25 | U.K. | Floods caused by heavy rain | 2,488 |
| 3 | Jul. 20 | U.K. | Floods caused by heavy rain | 1,991 |
| 4 | Apr. 13 | U.S. | Storm, rain, hail, floods | 1,568 |
| 5 | Oct. 21 | U.S. | Witch urban forest fires in California | 1,100 |
| 6 | Jun. 7 | Australia | Storm with winds up to 125 km/h, rain; floods | 957 |
| 7 | Jun. 6 | Oman, Iran, Gulf of Oman | Cyclone Gonu with winds up to 170 km/h | 649 |
| 8 | Aug. 23 | U.S. | Thunderstorms, hail; floods | 500 |
| 9 | Mar. 1 | U.S. | Storms, tornadoes, hail | 500 |
| 10 | Jan. 31 | Indonesia | Torrential rain; 70% of city of Jakarta flooded | 450 |
| 11 | Aug. 16 | Jamaica, Mexico, Martinique et al. | Hurricane Dean with winds up to 230 km/h | 450 |
| 12 | Oct. 28 | Mexico | Floods caused by heavy rain, storms | 450 |
| 13 | Aug. 29 | Japan | Typhoon Fitow/No. 9 with winds up to 140 km/h | 350 |
| 14 | Dec. 9 | U.S. | Winter storm, freezing rain, snow; power failure | 340 |
| 15 | Aug. 8 | Switzerland, Italy, Germany | Heavy rain, floods, landslides | 300 |
| 16 | Jul. 16 | Japan | Niigata earthquake (magnitude 6.6) | 300 |
| 17 | Jun. 15 | U.K. | Floods caused by heavy rain | 299 |
| 18 | May 4 | U.S. | Tornadoes, thunderstorms, hail | 260 |
| 19 | Mar. 2 | Japan | Explosion and fire at chemical plant | NA |
| 20 | Dec. 21 | Space | Loss of helium pressure at Rascom-QAF1 satellite | NA |
(1) Property and business interruption losses, excluding life and liability losses.
Note: Loss data shown here may differ from figures shown elsewhere for the same event due to revisions in loss estimates.
NA=Data not available.
Source: Swiss Re, sigma, No. 1/2008; ISO, insured losses for natural catastrophes in the United States. |
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WORLD INSURED CATASTROPHE LOSSES, 1998-2007 (1)
(U.S. $ millions)
Year |
In 2007 dollars |
| 1998 | $24,880 |
| 1999 | 43,071 |
| 2000 | 15,049 |
| 2001 | 41,820 |
| 2002 | 16,718 |
| 2003 | 21,586 |
| 2004 | 52,838 |
| 2005 | 113,893 |
| 2006 | 16,869 |
| 2007 | 27,564 |
(1) In order to maintain comparability of the data over the course of time, the minimum threshold for losses was adjusted annually to compensate for inflation in the United States. Adjusted to 2007 dollars by Swiss Re.
Source: Swiss Re, sigma, No. 1/2008. |
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AVIAN FLU
Since late 2003 the H5N1 influenza virus, a highly lethal virus that now mostly affects birds, has caused 243 human deaths in 12 countries. Indonesia, with 110 deaths, recorded the most fatalities, followed by Viet Nam (52 deaths), Egypt (22 deaths), China (20 deaths) and Thailand (17).
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CONFIRMED HUMAN CASES OF AVIAN FLU, 2003-2008 (1)
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