Toll of the natural disasters in the U.S

During the previous year that is in 2017 hurricane season broke all records with 17 tropical storms lashing the Atlantic basin.

Ten of these have been classified as hurricanes and two other similar events have reached the highest category, i.e., 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Scale.

Toll of the natural disasters in the U.S: 2018, a mild year

n 2018, the United States reported 108 events, classified as natural disasters, totaling 81.9 billion USD in economic losses, slightly less than half of the losses sustained in 2017. Insured losses are also down by nearly 40% compared to 2017.

Breakdown of 2017-2018 losses by event type

⁽¹⁾Excluding hurricane Maria

Source : Munich Re

Toll of the natural disasters in the U.S: 2017, an exceptionally bad year

2017 was the first year to report three hurricanes of category 4 and above: Harvey, Irma and Maria, all of which hit the East Coast of the United States. An unprecedented event in the history of natural disasters in the U.S . Hurricane Maria from 19 to 22 September 2017 caused very little loss in the United States. The majority of the economic damage amounting to 57 billion USD was mainly reported in Puerto Rico and for a small amount in the Dominican Republic.

According to Munich Re, the losses caused by natural events in the United States in 2017 amounted to 178 billion USD. Insured damage totaled 86 billion USD, that is more than triple the 26 billion USD insured losses in 2016.

Tropical cyclones, alone, accounted for 128 billion USD in economic losses, including 50 billion USD of insured losses. These amounts represented respectively 72% of total economic losses and 58% of total insured losses in the US market in 2017.

In December 2017, five major fires in Southern California destroyed more than 1 000 homes and buildings. One of these fires, the "Tubbs Fire", is designated as the largest ever wildfire in California. The "Tubbs Fire", disaster is poised to amount to 9.7 billion USD. For their part, the California authorities for insurance supervision gave the figure of 12 billion USD in losses for all fires reported between October and December 2017.

American States and territories most affected by disasters in 2017

Source: www.iii.org

The ten most costly natural disasters in the United States

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina, called "the big one", stood for the very typical sample of extreme event. With 125 billion USD in economic losses and 61 billion USD in insured losses, Katrina is the most expensive disaster ever recorded in the United States.

Katrina is followed by the three devastating hurricanes of 2017 namely Harvey, Irma and Maria.

⁽¹⁾ The United States was hardly affected by hurricane Maria. The most important losses pertain to other unincorporated territories (Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic)

Source : Munich Re

U.S : Natural catastrophes and insured losses: 2008-2018

Source : https://natcatservice.munichre.com