Global natural disasters caused an estimated USD 135 billion in economic losses in the first half of 2025, with insured losses reaching USD 80 billion. This was driven largely by January wildfires in the Los Angeles area that generated about USD 40 billion in insurance claims, according to Swiss Re Institute.
Natural disaster-related losses in the first quarter of 2025 have surged to over USD 110 billion, a sharp increase from the decade-long average. While insurers absorbed a substantial portion of these damages, nearly half of the losses remain uninsured. With the US facing mounting risks from severe storms and wildfires, the protection gap remains a growing concern.
The United States experienced a record-breaking 24 “billion-dollar” weather and climate disasters thus far in 2024, each incurring significant economic damage and resulting in the loss of 418 lives. This year’s toll greatly exceeds the long-term annual average of 8.5 events recorded between 1980 and 2023 and surpasses the recent five-year average of 20.4 events.
California ranks as number one on the list of the most disaster-prone states in the U.S., according to the latest rankings by ClaimGuide.
The first six months of 2021 brought a total of 8 billion-dollar disasters to the United States, according to data provided by the NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Disasters. The 1980 – 2020 annual average is 7.1 events (CPI-adjusted), while the annual…
At least 493 people lost their lives while 68 remain missing in 1 432 natural disasters in Indonesia between January 1, 2021, and June 17, 2021, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB). 5.2 million people have been affected, many of whom were…
A new United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) report confirms how extreme weather events have come to dominate the disaster landscape at the beginning of 21st century. Floods and storms were the most prevalent disaster events, followed by…
Internal Displacement Monitoring Center (IDMC) records show that over seven million people have been displaced from their residences due to natural disasters during the first six months of 2019. There were about 10.8 million new displacements worldwide in the first…
A record 41.3 million people were displaced inside their own countries at the end of 2018 due to conflict and natural disasters, according to a new report by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). The number of…
Image credit: CRED There were 281 climate-related and geophysical events recorded in the EM-DAT (International Disaster Database) in 2018. These caused deaths of 10 733 people and affected 61 million people across the world. There were a number of major disasters…
