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338328027432000Top 5 Most Expensive Natural Disasters in HistoryBy?Bo Zhang, Staff WriterMarch 30, 2011; 7:00 AM ET1. Earthquake and tsunami, Japan (2011)Cost: $235 billion (by the World Bank)So far, 8,649 people have been confirmed dead and another 13,262 are missing since the 9.0-magnitude quake struck off the coast near Sendai, Japan, on March 11, 2011. The degree of damage caused by the earthquake and resulting tsunami was enormous. Videos show that almost no parts of any structures were left standing in the worst affected areas.Failure of the cooling system at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant intensified the situation, resulting in evacuation of about 200,000 people residing around the plant.The World Bank on March 21 said that damage might reach $235 billion, while Japan's government had a higher estimate of $309 billion. The damage estimate could go even higher as it does not include losses in economic activity from planned power outages or the broader impact of the nuclear crisis, making the disaster world's most expensive on record.2. Kobe earthquake, Japan (1995)Cost: $100 billion (by the World Bank)The Great Hanshin earthquake, or Kobe earthquake, occurred on Jan. 17, 1995, in the southern part of Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. The focus of the quake was located 16 km (10 miles) beneath its epicenter, 20 km (12 miles) away from the city of Kobe. Measured at 6.8 magnitude, the earthquake killed nearly 6,500 people, making it the deadliest disaster in the world that year.The Kobe quake caused about $100 billion in destruction, according to an calculation by the World Bank, but Japanese trade rebounded within a year, with imports recovering fully and exports back to 85 percent of normal levels.3. Hurricane Katrina, U.S. (2005)Cost: $81 billion total damage cost (by NOAA)Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was one of the worst disasters in the U.S. history. It made landfall along the Gulf Coast on Aug. 25, 2005. At least 1,836 people died in the hurricane and in the subsequent floods. Five years later, thousands of displaced residents in Mississippi and Louisiana were still living in temporary accommodations.The total damage from Katrina is estimated at $81 billion (2005 U.S. dollars). It also generated the largest single loss in the history of insurance - $41 billion, according to the Insurance Information Institute.4. Northridge earthquake, California, U.S. (1994)Cost: $42 billion (by NOAA)While there have been more powerful earthquakes than the magnitude 6.7 Northridge quake, it caused large-scale damage throughout Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley due to the location of its epicenter.The Northridge earthquake occurred on Jan. 17, 1994, in Reseda, a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, Calif., and lasted for about 10-20 seconds. The quake resulted in more than 60 deaths and more than 5,000 injuries. More than 25,000 people were left homeless, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In addition, the earthquake caused an estimated $25 billion in damage, making it one of the costliest natural disasters in the U.S. history.5. Sichuan earthquake, China (2008)Cost: $29 billion (by the World Bank)The May 12, 2008, Sichuan earthquake was a deadly earthquake that measured at 8.0 magnitude. The quake killed about 70,000 people and left more than 18,000 missing. The epicenter was 80 km (50 miles) west-northwest of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, where almost 4 million people resided.Estimates put direct damage and losses from the earthquake at $29 billion, with indirect damage much higher.Note: The Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, which caused about 250,000 deaths, is not included on this list. Economic losses there amounted to only $14 billion in today's prices, partly because of low property and land values in the affected areas.However, money is only one scale of evaluating the impacts of natural disasters."It (money) does not apply to the measures of human lives lost," Meteorologist Jim Andrews says. "A total of about 250,000 deaths in the Indian Ocean Tsunami can never be compared by economic loss."Risk calculators and dashboardsItaly, Japan, China, USA, Spain and France rated "high risk"New research identifying Haiti and Mozambique as the countries most vulnerable to economic losses from natural disasters also classifies a number of industrialised economies, including Italy, Japan, China, USA, Spain and France, as "high risk" environments for investors, insurers and business.The Natural Disasters Economic Losses Index (NDELI), released by risk intelligence and ratings company, Maplecroft, evaluates the economic impact of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, storms, flooding, drought, landslides, extreme temperatures and epidemics between 1980 and 2010.The index measures the risk of economic losses from damage costs and deaths caused by natural disasters to reflect both the direct economic impact of natural disasters on property and infrastructure, plus the indirect economic impacts on populations. To provide an accurate picture of the global situation the NDELI has been split into two rankings; one measuring the risks to the 87 countries that suffer a high frequency of natural disasters; the other evaluating the 116 countries that experience less than one event per year.Seven countries are rated at "extreme risk" in the high frequency index, with Haiti (1), Mozambique (2), Honduras (3), Vanuatu (4), Zimbabwe (5), El Salvador (6) and Nicaragua (7) topping the ranking. However, the industrialised economies of Italy (18), Japan (23), China (25), USA (29), Spain (37) and France (48) are all in the "high risk" category, whilst India (51), UK (53), Germany (54) and Canada (55) are rated "medium risk.""When economic losses are taken as absolute figures, it is predominantly the industrialised countries, such as USA and China, that shoulder the greatest costs," explained Maplecroft Environmental Analyst, Dr Anna Moss. "However, when losses are calculated as a percentage of GDP, it is developing countries that are most exposed. For example, the USA's losses from the 1997-1998 El Ni?o were US$ 1.96 billion, or 0.03 percent of GDP, whereas in Ecuador, economic losses were US$ 2.9 billion, or 14.6 percent of GDP."Haiti, which was hit by a 7.0 magnitude earthquake in January 2010, suffered an estimated 222,570 fatalities and close to $8 billion worth of economic damage, according to its government. However, Haiti is also highly vulnerable to hydro-meteorological disasters and Maplecroft's research reveals that even without the damage from the 2010 earthquake, which was equivalent to 73% of annual GDP, the Caribbean country would still have had the 12th highest economic loss in the index.Mozambique is particularly vulnerable to the hydro-meteorological impacts of climate change and has suffered an increasing amount of floods and droughts in the last decade. In 2000, Mozambique was hit by the worst flood in 50 years, which killed 800 and caused economic losses estimated at US$419m. The World Bank also reported that Mozambique is at increasing risk from storm surges (flood of water caused by wind and low pressure) due to climate change and estimates that 41% of the country's coastal area and 52% of coastal GDP is vulnerable."The Natural Disasters Economic Losses Index is developed annually by Maplecroft to identify risks to assets and is especially relevant to the insurance and reinsurance industry, which has a large interest in preparedness and response to such disasters," said Professor Alyson Warhurst, CEO of Maplecroft. "Climate change has the potential to raise global temperatures and affect weather patterns - the fear for insurers is that this will lead to more frequent and extreme hydro-meteorological related losses."According to Maplecroft's low frequency index, it is the small island nations that are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of natural disasters. Geographically they lie in areas of high geophysical hazard risk and often bear the full force of tropical cyclones. They make up 21 of the 27 states rated "extreme" or "high risk" with Montserrat (1), Niue (2), Cook Islands (3), Samoa (4), American Samoa (5), Maldives (6) and Grenada (7) most susceptible.Swiss Reinsurance Co. estimates that the cost of natural disasters to the insurance industry in 2010 could reach $110 billion worldwide. The earthquake in Chile, on February 27, is estimated to cost $8 billion alone, which is 3.53% of the country's GDP, whilst Windstorm Xynthia in France may cost insurers as much as €2 billion, equal to 0.13% of French GDP. This year's Atlantic hurricane season is also set to be "extremely active" according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is predicting 14 to 23 named storms. ................
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