Status: 01/10/2023 11:00 a.m
Natural disasters also caused enormous damage last year. According to the first calculations by the reinsurer Munich Re, the sum was around 270 billion dollars.
The costliest natural disaster last year was Hurricane Ian in the United States, with total losses of around $100 billion. This was calculated by the reinsurer Munich Re. At the end of September, the powerful tropical cyclone, traveling at speeds of up to 250 kilometers per hour, uprooted trees, damaged buildings and flooded roads.
It wasn’t the only hurricane to hit the United States last year. Storm Elliot hit the northern United States at the end of the year, with heavy snowfalls, ice storms and severe sub-zero temperatures. It is still too early for a reliable estimate of the damage here, they say.
consequences of climate change
At Munich Re, it is pointed out that such strong storms match the expected consequences of climate change. The majority of researchers assume that the number of tropical cyclones will not increase as a result of global warming, but the proportion of particularly strong ones with particularly heavy precipitation will.
“Climate change is changing two main elements in terms of risk for the insurance industry, but also for society,” explains Ernst Rauch, chief climatologist at the Munich insurance group. “First is the frequency of extreme weather events – heat, but also the opposite, cold snap, storms and floods.” The second is the intensity of the events: heavier precipitation, stronger extreme events “on the level too cold, too warm”.
And that applies to all continents. Last year, for example, there were heavy floods in Pakistan again due to very heavy monsoon rains. At least 1700 people lost their lives. There were also severe floods in Australia.
Water shortage in Germany
But Europe was not spared either. Drought, heat, forest fires and severe thunderstorms with hail left major damage in their wake. In Germany, for example, Bavaria again complained about water shortages – for example in Lower Franconia in the Bergtheimer Mulde.
More and more of the damage is insured – the sum over the past five years has already exceeded the $100 billion mark three times, last year it was $120 billion like the year before. This suggests that insurance premiums will continue to rise.
New early warning systems help
However, the climate expert from Munich Re also points out preventive measures. “There is movement in the discussion with regard to the need to adapt better,” said Rauch. The increasing number of natural disasters in Europe included the 2002 and 2013 floods.
These were “two very similar meteorological events”, although there was significantly less damage in 2013: “Because flood protection measures have already had a positive effect,” Rauch states. Better early warning systems and adapted construction have already led to the number of fatalities falling compared to before – despite the increased damage.