Typhoon Hagibis, which made landfall in Japan on October 12, is expected to cause over US$10 billion in economic losses, according to a report by global insurance broking firm Aon
The typhoon, which first made contact with Japan’s Iza Peninsula, blew over the greater Tokyo Metro region, one of the most densely populated regions in the country. At least 95 fatalities were confirmed, and over 93,000 structures were damaged or destroyed, according to Aon’s monthly Global Catastrophe Recap report.
Total economic losses were expected to exceed US$10 billion, with insured losses minimally in the billions, the report said.
Meanwhile, Typhoon Mitag made landfall in eastern China’s Zhejiang Province on October 01 as a tropical storm, and made a second landfall in South Korea the following day. Heavy rains led to flooding and landslides in South Korea, where at least 14 people were confirmed dead or missing and more than 1,000 properties were flooded, the report said. Three fatalities were confirmed in China. Total economic losses amounted to at least US$816 million, including US$553 million in South Korea and US$263 million in China.
Elsewhere in the world, extreme wildfire conditions caused numerous ignitions in California in the month of October. Total economic damage was expected in the hundreds of millions, with most of the losses covered by insurance.
Hurricane Lorenzo, the easternmost Category 5 Atlantic Hurricane on record, affected the Azores Islands on October 02 as a Category 1 storm, the report said. The Portuguese government estimated damage costs at €330 million (US$367 million), primarily attributed to port infrastructure.
Parts of Western, Central, and Eastern Africa were affected by seasonal flooding throughout October. The events resulted in significant humanitarian impacts and hundreds of thousands were affected. The combined death toll from October flooding was minimally listed at 208.
Severe drought conditions across much of Eastern Australia led to an active bushfire season in September and October, with numerous fires across Queensland and New South Wales. According to Aon, fires destroyed dozens of structures and the Insurance Council of Australia declared separate insurance catastrophe events in each state. Total economic and insured losses from the bushfires were expected in the tens of millions of US dollars.
