Man-made and natural disasters generated worldwide economic losses of 222 billion dollars in 2010, more than three times last year's figure. This year's major catastrophes claimed 260,000 lives, most of them in the deadly Haiti earthquake during which over 222,000 people were killed. Other disasters with high casualty rate included Russia's heatwave which left about 15,000 dead and summer floods in China and Pakistan which killed 6,225. Yet, despite the three-fold jump in economic losses, the impact to insurers rose only 34 percent from a year ago to 36 billion dollars, as the most devastating disasters occurred in regions which had little insurance coverage.
"While most of the costliest events caused by the earthquakes in Chile and New Zealand and the winter storm in western Europe were covered by insurance, events like the earthquake in Haiti and floods in Asia were barely insured." It was the earthquake in Chile alone which left the insurance industry with the biggest bill, costing 8 billion dollars. February's western European winter storm cost the industry 2.85 billion dollars while New Zealand's earthquake cost 2.7 billion dollars. The reinsurer also included losses from BP's Gulf of Mexico oil spill, saying that the explosion cost insurers property claims of about 1 billion dollars, although this figure could still rise.
Oscar Wilde
LARGEST QUAKES -
This morning -
5.4 NORTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA
5.0 TONGA REGION
Yesterday -
11/30/10 -
5.1 KURIL ISLANDS
5.5 SOUTH INDIAN OCEAN
5.1 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
5.5 KURIL ISLANDS
5.2 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS
5.4 EASTERN XIZANG
6.8 BONIN ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
5.0 TONGA
VOLCANOES -
The Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) on Tuesday reported the CEO of media giant Media Nusantara Citra to the National Police for broadcasting “lies” in the station’s Merapi eruption coverage. The KPI had ordered the gossip show “Silet” taken off air after it caused panic by reporting on Nov. 7 that Merapi, which had claimed more than 250 lives, was expected to erupt with even greater intensity “next week.” The presenter also described heavily populated Yogyakarta, 28 kilometers south of the volcano, as a “doomed city.” Despite the KPI’s ruling that RCTI could not broadcast the show again until the alert status of the mountain had been downgraded, the station quickly resumed broadcasting the show. The name of the program had simply been changed to “Intens,” and featured a new presenter. An attorney for the tycoon criticized the commission for being discriminatory because other TV stations had also broadcast similar stories.
TROPICAL STORMS -
Cyclone 03S was 881 nmi ESE of Diego Garcia
Season saw FEWEST PACIFIC STORMS ON RECORD - The 2010 Atlantic Hurricane Season was an active one but the Eastern North Pacific basin yielded the fewest storms on record this year.
The Pacific Basin normally sees 15 tropical storms form each season, with an average of nine becoming hurricanes, but this year only seven tropical storms formed, with three becoming hurricanes. Sixty percent of all storm development in the region during the season occurs in September and October, but this September was the QUIETEST ON RECORD with only one tropical storm. October yielded no tropical activity, something that HASN'T HAPPENED SINCE 1977. "The tropical season started nearly on cue and was pretty much on target to be a normal season during June into August. But during the latter part of August and through the rest of the year, the season went flat." The Atlantic season also affected the Pacific events, since a greater-than-normal number of tropical waves developed into hurricanes in the Atlantic Basin in September and October. That prevented the usual number of waves making their way westward into the Eastern Pacific and developing into cyclones there during the most active part of the season.
SEVERE RAIN STORMS, FLOODING, LANDSLIDES -
VENEZUELA - Days of torrential rain have brought widespread flooding to Venezuela, destroying thousands of homes and killing at least 20 people. A state of emergency has been declared in four states, including the capital, Caracas. Many of the deaths occurred in poor areas of the capital, where landslides have swept away houses built on steep hillsides.
The government says at least 5,600 people have been left homeless. Flights have been disrupted at the main international airport and the road linking it to Caracas has been cut by landslides. Thousands have had to flee their homes Worst hit have been the coastal states of Falcon, Miranda and Vargas, as well as the capital district of Caracas. Thousands of people are living in temporary shelters, including schools, universities and army barracks. Heavy rain was expected to continue for several days.
The May-November rainy season in Mexico, Central America and the northern part of South America has been EXTREMELY SEVERE this year as a result of climatic phenomenon known as La Nina, which is caused by colder than usual water currents along the Pacific coast. In December 1999 floods in Venezuela killed up to 30,000 people in the country's worst natural disaster in modern times.
HEAVY SNOW / EXTREME COLD -
EUROPE - Community workers are out in force battling snowdrifts brought by the Jenna cyclone that has snarled road, rail and air traffic all across Western Europe. People in many parts of Spain are bracing up for heavy snowfalls and the situation in neighboring France and also in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Czech Republic is equally alarming.
In Poland five people have already fallen victim to harsh weather conditions.
EXTREME HEAT & DROUGHT / WILDFIRES / CLIMATE CHANGE -
NEW ZEALAND has just been through ONE OF ITS WARMEST NOVEMBERS EVER. Several warm weather RECORDS WERE SMASHED LAST MONTH, especially in the South Island, where temperatures were up to 3.5 degrees on the usual average. Cromwell had the warmest day reaching 32.3 degrees on November 28 - the town's HIGHEST NOVEMBER TEMPERATURES IN MORE THAN 60 YEARS. A 90-year temperature record - 28.1 degrees celsius - was set in Hamilton. "Taupo, New Plymouth, Wanganui, all that central area of the North Island also broke records...We've had anti-cyclones passing over the country letting in all that good sunshine and light winds." A strong La Nina in the tropical Pacific should persist through the summer.
But with that warm period has come low rainfall and much of the country is now very dry. Some places have had no rain at all in the past four weeks. Wanaka only had three millimetres of rain in the whole month. In Manapouri, only two millimetres fell, Wanganui and Dargaville got 10 millimetres, Taupo and Hamilton both got 16 millimetres - all well below average. That's frustrating farmers across the country with predictions that summer soil moisture levels and river flows are very likely to be below normal in the west and south of the South Island, and near normal or below normal in all other regions, according to the seasonal outlook.
