CHICAGO, Sept. 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Impact Forecasting,
Aon Benfield's catastrophe model
development team, today launches the latest edition of its monthly
Global Catastrophe Recap report, which evaluates the impact of the
natural disaster events that occurred worldwide during August 2017. Aon Benfield is the global
reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor of Aon plc
(NYSE:AON).
The report reveals that Hurricane Harvey came ashore in
Texas on August 25 to become the first major hurricane (a
storm rated as either Category 3, 4 or 5) to make landfall in
the United States since Hurricane
Wilma in 2005. Heavy rain continued until August 31 bringing record-breaking rainfall to
some areas. Catastrophic flooding ensued across a swath of eastern
Texas and southwestern
Louisiana, as more than 60 people
were confirmed dead and dozens more were injured. Additional
impacts due to severe thunderstorms and flash floods were noted
across the Gulf States and Mississippi Valley.
Total economic losses were estimated to minimally reach the tens
of billions (USD), ensuring that Harvey is likely to become one of
the costliest natural disasters on record in the U.S. Preliminary
published reports suggest that insured losses – including those
paid by private industry and the U.S. National Flood Insurance
Program – were likely to well exceed USD10
billion.
Elsewhere, Typhoon Hato and Tropical Storm Pakhar both made
landfall in China's Guangdong province within one week of each
other, causing considerable damage and loss of life in multiple
provinces as well as Macau and
Hong Kong. Economic losses from
Hato alone were minimally estimated at USD3.0 billion, while combined insured losses
from both storms in Guangdong were
estimated at USD535 million.
Additionally, Typhoon Noru and Hurricane Franklin impacted
southern Japan and Mexico respectively during August.
Steve Bowen, Impact Forecasting
director and meteorologist, said: "Hurricane Harvey's landfall in
the United States officially put
an end to the 11-year major hurricane drought. The impacts from the
cyclone were far-reaching, and the scope of flood damage in
Houston – the nation's fourth
largest city – was historic. Given the anticipated costs from
direct damage and business interruption, it is expected that Harvey
will eventually be recorded as one of the costliest natural
disasters on record in the U.S. Harvey served as a challenging
reminder of how catastrophic hurricane events can be, and with
September being the peak of the Atlantic Hurricane Season, the risk
of further storms remains high."
Further natural hazard events to have occurred worldwide in
August include:
- More than 1,300 people were killed across South Asia due to extensive monsoonal flooding
and landslides during August. Throughout India, Bangladesh, and Nepal, tens of millions of people were
affected as approximately one million homes were damaged or
destroyed. Extensive damage to agriculture and infrastructure was
also endured in northeastern India, southern and eastern Nepal, and northern Bangladesh.
- Multiple rounds of flooding impacted several Chinese provinces
claiming at least 100 lives and generating aggregated economic
losses in excess of USD1.2
billion.
- Floods in northern Vietnam
claimed 40 lives and caused losses of USD88
million.
- Torrential rainfall over portions of Africa during August led to at least two
significant landslides that claimed an estimated 1,250 lives. The
largest of these occurred in Sierra
Leone on August 14 where the
death toll in Freetown was
estimated at approximately 1,050. Additional flood events were
reported in Russia's Far East,
Yemen, Iran, the United
States (Florida), and
Europe (The Alps) during
August.
- Several rounds of severe weather including at least two
derechos impacted multiple central European countries through the
middle part of August. Widespread property, agricultural, and
forestry damage was reported from Poland, the Czech
Republic, Slovakia,
Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. Both economic and insured losses were
expected to reach well into the hundreds of millions (EUR).
- Multiple severe weather outbreaks were additionally noted in
the United States and China.
- On August 8, a magnitude-6.5
earthquake struck China's
Sichuan province, damaging 72,500
homes.
To view the full Impact Forecasting August 2017 Global Catastrophe Recap report,
please follow the link:
http://aon.io/2f08yoP
Along with the report, users can access current and historical
natural catastrophe data and event analysis on Impact Forecasting's
Catastrophe Insight website, which is updated bi-monthly as new
data become available:
www.aonbenfield.com/catastropheinsight
Further information
For further information please contact the Aon Benfield PR team:
Andrew Wragg (+44 207 522 8183 / 07595 217168) David Bogg or
Alexandra Lewis
Follow Aon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aon_plc
For information on Aon plc. and to sign-up for news
alerts: http://aon.mediaroom.com
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SOURCE Aon plc