A monstrous forest fire, Camp Fire, raged in California in November became the most costly natural disaster in the world in 2018. The damage from it is estimated at $16.5 billion, says in its annual report, the insurance company Munich Re.
At the 2nd and 3rd place in the world according to the damage has been other natural disasters also affected the United States. This is the October hurricane «Michael»that hit the Florida coast ($16 billion in damage) and the September hurricane «Florence» ($14 billion in damage).
«Michael,» in the midst of which the wind speed reached 155 mph, became the 4th strongest hurricane in US history. It actually wiped off the face of the earth the city of Mexico beach.
California fire Camp Fire, recall, destroyed the town of Paradise and took the lives of 86 people.
Camp Fire is approaching the town of Ukiah in California.
Source: Flickr
«Our data shows that losses from forest fires in California in recent years has increased dramatically. At the same time, we’ve seen hot and dry summer, which becomes a major factor in the occurrence of forest fires. Many scientists, like me, see a connection between these events and climate change,» said Ernst Rauch, head of the climatic and geological Sciences Munich Re.
As for hurricanes, in the case of «Michael» most of the damage was caused by wind. Insurance covers that. But in the case of «Florence,» the major damage was due to flooding. A flood is usually not covered by standard insurance policies homeowners in the United States.
The total «cost» of all natural disasters in the world in 2018 amounted to $160 billion. And the most deadly natural disaster were the earthquake and tsunami that struck Indonesia on 28 September, killing more than 2100 people.
