Numerous thunderstorms caused major damage worldwide in 2023
Published: Thursday, Dec 7th 2023, 11:10
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Catastrophes once again caused major damage worldwide in 2023, which will soon be coming to an end. A large proportion of these were due to numerous severe thunderstorms, according to a study published by the Swiss Re Institute on Thursday.
The reinsurer estimates the economic costs of natural and man-made disasters for the current year at a total of 269 billion US dollars. This corresponds to a decrease of 9 percent compared to the previous year. However, the figure is well above the ten-year average of 235 billion.
According to the Swiss Re experts, an estimated total of 108 billion dollars of catastrophe losses were insured compared to 141 billion in 2022. 100 billion of this was attributable to natural disasters alone. This is the fourth time in a row that the 100 billion mark has been reached, according to the press release accompanying the study.
Numerous thunderstorm fronts have left their mark on insurers' claims balance sheets this year. According to Swiss Re, the thunderstorms in the USA alone caused around 50 billion dollars in insured losses. In Europe, Italy was hit the hardest with a good 3.3 billion dollars.
©Keystone/SDA
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