Catastrophes continue in August

Email Print

6 September 2010

Historic flooding in Pakistan, deadly landslides in China and bushfires in Europe combined to make August an active month for catastrophes.

Aon Benfield’s August catastrophe recap report highlights the devastating losses caused by flooding in Pakistan, where 1677 people died and 1.25 million homes were affected.

Preliminary estimates indicate economic losses and reconstruction costs could approach 1.73 trillion rupees ($22 billion).

Heavy rain in China triggered flooding and landslides, killing 1467 people and damaging nearly 800,000 homes. Total economic losses are estimated at 108 billion yuan ($17.4 billion).

During the first half of August wildfires continued to burn across Russia, where economists estimated total economic losses could reach 448 billion rubles ($16 billion).

In the Americas, Hurricane Frank developed off southern Mexico, with heavy rains and gusty winds impacting at least 30,000 people. Meanwhile, Hurricane Earl in the Atlantic affected parts of the northern Leeward Islands and Puerto Rico.

Heavy rain also caused flooding and landslides in Nicaragua, killing 37 and affecting 4300 homes. In Bolivia, more than 25,000 wildfires swept through more than 1.5 million hectares of land and closed 28 of the nation’s 39 airports.