On January 20, 2014 Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in response to the worst drought conditions in California in a century. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, some parts of the state remain in the extreme drought classification, and coastal areas north of San Francisco as well as the Sierra Nevada are back in the extreme drought classification. The drought, which is technically in its third year, has been exacerbated by a lack of precipitation along the West Coast this winter, which is normally the rainy season. As of May 13, 2014, 38 percent of the contiguous 48 states was experiencing drought; 10 percent was in extreme and exceptional drought. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s latest seasonal assessment, issued on May 15, indicates that long-term drought is expected to continue in California, interior Oregon, the Great Basin states of Nevada and Utah, the Desert Southwest, including Arizona, the southern Rockies and the southern High Plains. Drought, wildfires and heat waves caused 29 deaths and $385 million in insured losses in the United States in 2013, according to Munich Re.
NATURAL DISASTER LOSSES IN THE UNITED STATES, 2013
Source: © 2014 Munich Re, NatCatSERVICE. As of January 2014.
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THE FIVE LARGEST NATURAL CATASTROPHES OF 2013 BY NUMBER OF FATALITIES (1)
Source: © 2014 Munich Re, Geo Risks Research, NatCatSERVICE. As of January 2014.
GLOBAL CATASTROPHES, 2013
| Floods |
53 |
8,633 |
$9,137 |
| Storms |
60 |
8,344 |
20,819 |
| Earthquakes |
12 |
1,095 |
45 |
| Drought, bush fires, heat waves |
8 |
1,335 |
609 |
| Cold, frost |
5 |
727 |
139 |
| Hail |
8 |
NA |
6,164 |
| Other natural catastrophes |
4 |
67 |
134 |
| Total natural catastrophes |
150 |
20,201 |
$37,047 |
| Man-made disasters |
158 |
5,702 |
$7,870 |
| All natural catatrophes (1) |
308 |
25,903 |
$44,917 |
(1) Based on events classified by Swiss Re as a catastrophe. The threshold is $19.3 million in insured losses for maritime disasters, $38.6 million for aviation disasters and $48.0 million for other losses or $96 million in total economic losses; or at least 20 dead or missing, 50 injured or 2,000 made homeless.
NA=Data not available.
Source: Swiss Re, sigma, 1/2014.
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THE TEN DEADLIEST WORLD CATASTROPHES, 1970-2013 (1)
| 1 |
Nov. 14, 1970 |
Bangladesh, Bay of Bengal |
Storm and flood catastrophe |
300,000 |
| 2 |
Jul. 28, 1976 |
China |
Earthquake (Mw 7.5) |
255,000 |
| 3 |
Jan. 12, 2010 |
Haiti |
Earthquake (Mw 7.0) |
222,570 |
| 4 |
Dec. 26, 2004 |
Indonesia, Thailand et al. |
Earthquake (Mw 9), tsunami in Indian Ocean |
220,000 |
| 5 |
May 2, 2008 |
Myanmar (Burma), Bay of Bengal |
Tropical cyclone Nargis; Irrawaddy Delta flooded |
138,300 |
| 6 |
Apr. 29, 1991 |
Bangladesh |
Tropical cyclone Gorky |
138,000 |
| 7 |
May 12, 2008 |
China |
Earthquake (Mw 7.9) in Sichuan, aftershocks |
87,449 |
| 8 |
Oct. 8, 2005 |
Pakistan, India, Afghanistan |
Earthquake (Mw 7.6); aftershocks, landslides |
73,300 |
| 9 |
May 31, 1970 |
Peru |
Earthquake (M 7.7); rock slides |
66,000 |
| 10 |
Jun. 15, 2010 |
Russia |
Heat wave in Russia |
55,630 |
(1) Dead and missing.
Source: Swiss Re, sigma, No. 1/2014.
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THE FIVE LARGEST NATURAL CATASTROPHES OF 2013 BY OVERALL LOSSES (1)
($ millions)
Source: © 2014 Munich Re, Geo Risks Research, NatCatSERVICE. As of January 2014.
THE FIVE LARGEST NATURAL CATASTROPHES OF 2013 BY NUMBER OF FATALITIES (1)
Source: © 2014 Munich Re, Geo Risks Research, NatCatSERVICE. As of January 2014.
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