Natural disasters throughout the world this year, most of them weather-related, are set to cost over €70 billion, according to a report by an insurance company.
Munich Re said record rains, triggering devastating floods in Europe, destruction of homes across the Caribbean and life-threatening mudslides in India, Nepal and Bangladesh, have been a feature of 2002.
Natural catastrophes have cost countries and communities an estimated €57 billion from January to September 2002, according to Munich Re, while insured losses are running at an estimated €9 billion over the same period.
August floods in Europe, the worst in 150 years, flooded buildings, swept away cars, damaged railway, power and telecommunications lines and killed more than 100 people. Insured losses to date are estimated at between €2 billion and €5 billion.
Typhoon Rusa, which hit South Korea in late August and early September, downed 24,000 power lines, destroyed 645 ships, resulted in the deaths of 300,000 livestock and cost €7 billion, the report says. Most of these losses were uninsured.
Mr Thomas Loster, one of the authors of the report, said there had been more than 500 major natural disasters so far this year "killing thousands of people, making hundreds of thousands homeless and affecting millions" as a result of extreme weather.
Most disasters were in Asia, at 195, followed by the Americas (149), Europe (99), Australasia (45) and Africa (38). Europe suffered the greatest economic loss, at almost €34 billion, followed by Asia (€15 billion and North America (€8 billion). The report underscores the high level of rain-related natural catastrophes.
One-third of the 526 natural catastrophes in 2002 were floods. In total, there were more windstorm-related natural disasters, but floods killed more people and cost far more economically.
"Rain intensities reached unique values, marking all-time records in the statistics", Mr Loster told a press conference at the UN climate summit in Delhi. In the summer flooding in Germany, annual rainfall averages were reached in just one or two days.
"We have, once more, strong indications that global warming is increasing and will thus have serious effects on societies and economies alike," Mr Loster said. His company has been monitoring these trends since the early 1970s.
Mr Klaus Toepfer, executive director of the UN Environment Programme, said the findings showed that climate change was already under way, and the increase in extreme weather events would impact on every facet of life, affecting poorer parts of the world most.
"The industrialised nations must do all they can to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases, the first step of which is to ratify the Kyoto Protocol," he said.
