Climate Risk Resilience

Facts + Statistics: Global catastrophes

Global Catastrophes

Insured losses from natural catastrophes totaled $130 billion, 76 percent above the 21st century average, and 18 percent higher than 2020, according to the 2021 Weather, Climate and Catastrophe Insight report from Aon.
Hurricane Ida was the largest insured loss event in 2021 and the fourth costliest hurricane on record with $36 billion in insured losses.
There were 20 billion-dollar insured loss events in 2021, the fourth highest on record. Insured losses of $17 billion from winter weather, was the costliest on record for this peril.
The $13 billion insured losses from European floods was the costliest disaster on record for the continent. Aon noted that roughly 38 percent of global economic losses were covered by insurance, translating to a protection gap of 62 percent.
Natural catastrophes in 2021 resulted in a total global economic loss of $270 billion, according to Swiss Re’s sigma report. Of those global economic losses, only $111 billion were actually insured. (Aon’s and Swiss Re’s figures differ because of different collection methods and criteria for classifying events).
According to the Swiss Re sigma report, man-made disasters totaled $10 billion in 2021, of which $8 billion were insured.
Marsh publishes a biennial report on the 100 largest losses in the hydrocarbon industry which summarizes the largest property damage losses from the hydrocarbon extraction, transport, and processing industry between 1974 and 2021.

Rank	Peril	Insured loss (US$ billions)
1	Severe Convective Storm	$62
2	Tropical Cyclone	48
3	Flooding	21
4	Winter Weather	4
5	Drought	4
6	Wildfire	3
7	European Windstorm	2
8	Earthquake	1
9	Other	0
	Total	$145

(1) Natural disasters that cause at least US$25 million in insured losses; or 10 deaths; or 50 people injured; or 2,000 filed claims or homes and structures damaged. As of January 2025. (2) Chart total and amount cited in text may be different due to rounding by the source, Aon Note: Loss data shown here may differ from figures shown elsewhere for the same event due to differences in the date of publication, the geographical area covered and other criteria used by organizations collecting the data. Source: Aon.

				Insured loss
Rank	Date	Country/region	Event	Dollars when occurred	In 2024 dollars (2)
1	Aug. 2005	U.S.	Hurricane Katrina	$65	$104
2	Sept. 2022	U.S., Cuba	Hurricane Ian	54	57
3	Mar. 11, 2011	Japan	Tohoku Earthquake/Tsunami	35	49
4	Sep. 2017	U.S., Caribbean	Hurricane Irma	33	43
5	Aug.-Sep. 2021	U.S., Caribbean	Hurricane Ida	36	42
6	Oct. 2012	U.S.	Hurricane Sandy	30	41
7	Aug.-Sep. 2017	U.S.	Hurricane Harvey	30	39
8	Sep. 2017	U.S., Caribbean	Hurricane Maria	30	38
9	Aug. 1992	U.S., Bahamas	Hurricane Andrew	16	36
10	Jan. 17, 1994	U.S.	Northridge Earthquake	15	33

(1) Natural disasters that cause at least US$25 million in insured losses; or 10 deaths; or 50 people injured; or 2,000 filed claims or homes and structures damaged. Losses for hurricanes in the United States include losses for the National Flood Insurance Program. As of January 2025. (2) Adjusted for inflation by Aon using the U.S. Consumer Price Index. Note: Loss data shown here may differ from figures shown elsewhere for the same event due to differences in the date of publication, the geographical area covered and other criteria used by organizations collecting the data. Source: Aon.

Rank	Date	Country	Event	Deaths
1	Jul. 10-20	Italy, Greece	Heatwave	1,900
2	Apr. 20 - May 5	Southeastern Asia	Heatwave	1,571
3	Jun. 1-20	Saudi Arabia	Pilgrimage Extreme Heat	1,300
4	Sep. 1-9	China, Southeast Asia	Typhoon Yagi	816
5	Mar. 1 - Jun. 30	India	Heatwave	733
6	Apr. 18 - Oct. 31	Arizona	Maricopa Heatwave	657
7	Mar. 20 - Apr. 30	East Africa	Seasonal Floods	576
8	Aug. 1 - Sep. 30	Chad	Seasonal Floods	576
9	Jun. 20-30	Pakistan	Heatwave	568
10	Jan. 1	Japan	Noto Earthquake	489
All other events				~8,900
Total				~18,100

(1) Natural disasters that cause at least 10 deaths. As of January 2025. ~ =Approximately. Source: Aon.

Rank	Date	Country/region	Event	Deaths
1	Nov. 12, 1970	Bangladesh	Cyclone Bhola	300,000
2	Jul. 27, 1976	China	Tangshan earthquake	242,769
3	Jul. 30, 1975	Taiwan, China	Super Typhoon Nina	230,029
4	Dec. 26, 2004	Indian Ocean Basin	Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami	226,408
5	Jan. 12, 2010	Haiti	Port-au-Prince earthquake	160,000
6	Apr. 1991	Bangladesh	Cyclone Gorky	139,000
7	May 2008	Myanmar	Cyclone Nargis	138,366
8	Aug. 1971	Vietnam	Vietnam floods	100,000
9	Oct. 8, 2005	Pakistan	Kashmir earthquake	88,000
10	May 12, 2008	China	Sichuan earthquake	87,652

(1) Natural disasters that cause at least 10 deaths. Does not include drought or heatwave events. As of January 2025. Source: Aon.

				Insured loss
Rank	Date	Country/region	Event	Dollars when occurred	In 2024 dollars (2)
1	Aug. 2005	U.S.	Hurricane Katrina	$65	$104
2	Sep. 2022	U.S., Cuba	Hurricane Ian	54	57
3	Sep. 2017	U.S., Caribbean	Hurricane Irma	33	43
4	Aug. 2021	U.S., Caribbean	Hurricane Ida	36	42
5	Oct. 2012	U.S., Caribbean, Canada	Hurricane Sandy	30	41
6	Aug. 2017	U.S.	Hurricane Harvey	30	39
7	Sep. 2017	U.S., Caribbean	Hurricane Maria	30	38
8	Aug. 1992	U.S., Caribbean	Hurricane Andrew	16	36
9	Sep. 2008	U.S., Caribbean	Hurricane Ike	18	27
10	Oct. 2024	U.S., Mexico	Hurricane Milton	20	20

(1) Includes losses sustained by private insurers and government-sponsored programs. Subject to change as loss estimates are further developed. As of January 2025. (2) Adjusted for inflation by Aon using the U.S. consumer price index. Note: Loss data shown here may differ from figures shown elsewhere for the same event due to differences in the date of publication, the geographical area covered and other criteria used by organizations collecting the data. Source: Aon.

				Insured loss
Rank	Date	Country/region	Event	Dollars when occurred	In 2024 dollars (2)
1	Aug. 2020	U.S.	Severe convective storm (includes Midwest Derecho)	$9.2	$11.0
2	Apr. 2011	U.S.	2011 Super Outbreak	7.6	11.0
3	May 2011	U.S.	Joplin Tornado/Severe convective storm	7.0	9.8
4	May 2003	U.S.	Severe convective storm	3.3	5.7
5	May 2024	U.S.	Severe convective storm	5.2	5.2
6	Jul. 2013	Europe	Storm Andreas	3.8	5.1
7	Mar. 2023	U.S.	Severe convective storm	4.9	5.1
8	Mar. 2024	U.S.	Severe convective storm	4.8	4.8
9	Mar.-Apr. 2023	U.S., Canada	Tornado Outbreak	4.3	4.5
10	May 2019	U.S.	Severe convective storm	3.7	4.5

(1) Includes severe convective storms such as thunderstorms, tornadoes and hailstorms, straight-line winds and flooding that could occur with these storms. Includes losses sustained by private insurers and government-sponsored programs. Subject to change as loss estimates are further developed. As of January 2025. (2) Adjusted for inflation by Aon using the U.S. consumer price index. Note: Loss data shown here may differ from figures shown elsewhere for the same event due to differences in the date of publication, the geographical area covered and other criteria used by organizations collecting the data. Source: Aon.

				Insured loss
Rank	Date	Country	Event	Dollars when occurred	In 2024 dollars (2)
1	Nov. 2018	U.S.	Camp Fire	$10.0	$13.0
2	Oct. 2017	U.S.	Tubbs Fire	8.7	11.0
3	Nov. 2018	U.S.	Woolsey Fire	4.2	5.3
4	Aug. 2023	U.S.	Maui / Hawaii Fire	4.3	4.4
5	Oct. 1991	U.S.	Oakland (Tunnel) Fire	1.7	3.9
6	Oct. 2017	U.S.	Atlas Fire	3.0	3.8
7	May 2016	Canada	Horse Creek Fire	2.9	3.7
8	Sep.-Oct. 2020	U.S.	Glass Fire	3.0	3.6
9	Aug.-Sep. 2020	U.S.	CZU Lightning Complex Fire	2.5	3.0
10	Dec. 2017	U.S.	Thomas Fire	2.3	2.9

(1) Individual wildfires. Includes losses sustained by private insurers and government-sponsored programs. Subject to change as loss estimates are further developed. As of January 2025. (2) Adjusted for inflation by Aon using the U.S. consumer price index. Note: Loss data shown here may differ from figures shown elsewhere for the same event due to differences in the date of publication, the geographical area covered and other criteria used by organizations collecting the data. Source: Aon.

Nuclear incidents

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) rates the severity of nuclear incidents on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES) from one (indicating an anomaly) to seven (indicating a major event). The scale considers an event’s impact based on three criteria: its effect on people and the environment; whether it caused unsafe levels of radiation in a facility; and if preventive measures did not function as intended. Scales six and seven designate full meltdowns, where the nuclear fuel reactor core overheats and melts. Partial meltdowns, in which the fuel is damaged, are rated four or five.

Rank	Date	Location	Description	Fatalities	In 2006 dollars ($ millions) (2)
1	April 26, 1986	Kiev, Ukraine	Mishandled reactor safety test at Chernobyl nuclear reactor causes steam explosion and meltdown, necessitating the evacuation of 300,000 people from Kiev and dispersing radioactive material across Europe	4,056	$6,700
2	March 28, 1979	Middletown, Pennsylvania, United States	Equipment failures and operator error contribute to loss of coolant and partial core meltdown at Three Mile Island nuclear reactor	0	2,400
3	March 9, 1985	Athens, Alabama, United States	Instrumentation systems malfunction during startup, convincing the Tennessee Valley Authority to suspend operations at all three Browns Ferry Units	0	1,830
4	February 22, 1977	Jaslovske Bohunice, Czechoslovakia	Mechanical failure during fuel loading causes severe corrosion of reactor and release of radioactivity into the plant area, necessitating total decommission	0	1,700
5	April 11, 1986	Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States	Recurring equipment problems with instrumentation, vacuum breakers, instrument air system, and main transformer force emergency shutdown of Boston Edison’s Pilgrim nuclear facility	0	1,001
6	February 1, 2010	Montpelier, Vermont, United States	Deteriorating underground pipes from the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant leak radioactive tritium into groundwater supplies in Vermont, resulting in the eventual shutdown of the plant	0	700
7	December 26, 1985	Clay Station, California, United States	Safety and control systems unexpectedly fail at Rancho Seco nuclear reactor, ultimately leading to the premature closure of the plant	0	672
8	November 24, 1989	Greifswald, East Germany	Electrical error causes fire in the main trough that destroys control lines and 5 main coolant pumps and almost induces meltdown	0	443
9	March 31, 1987	Delta, Pennsylvania, United States	Philadelphia Electric Company shuts down Peach Bottom units 2 and 3 due to cooling malfunctions and unexplained equipment problems	0	400
10	September 2, 1996	Crystal River, Florida, United States	Balance-of-plant equipment malfunction forces Florida Power Corporation to shut down Crystal River Unit 3 and make extensive repairs	0	384
11	May 4, 1987	Kalpakkam, India	Fast Breeder Test Reactor at Kalpakkam has to shut down due to the simultaneous occurrence of pump failures, faulty instrument signals, and turbine malfunctions that culminate in a refuelling accident that ruptures the reactor core with 23 fuel assembles, resulting in a two year shutdown	0	300
12	February 2, 1995	Kota, Rajasthan, India	The Rajasthan Atomic Power Station leaks radioactive helium and heavy water into the Rana Pratap Sagar River, necessitating a two year shutdown for repairs		280
13	May 4, 1986	Hamm-Uentrop, Germany	Operator actions to dislodge damaged fuel rod at Experimental High Temperature Gas Reactor release excessive radiation to 4 square kilometers surrounding the facility	0	267
14	February 20, 1996	Waterford, Connecticut, United States	Leaking valve forces Northeast Utilities Company to shut down Millstone Units 1 and 2, further inspection reveals multiple equipment failures	0	254
15	March 22, 1975	Browns Ferry, Alabama, United States	Fire burns for seven hours and damages more than 1,600 control cables for three nuclear reactors, disabling core cooling systems	0	240
16	March 31, 1993	Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, India	The Narora Atomic Power Station suffers a fire at two of its steam turbine blades, damaging the heavy water reactor and almost leading to a meltdown	0	220
17	December 19, 1987	Lycoming, New York, United States	Fuel rod, waste storage, and water pumping malfunctions force Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation to shut down Nine Mile Point Unit 1	0	150
18	February 16, 2002	Oak Harbor, Ohio, United States	Severe corrosion of control rod forces 24 month outage of Davis-Besse reactor	0	143
19	March 17, 1989	Lusby, Maryland, United States	Inspections at Baltimore Gas & Electric’s Calvert Cliff Units 1 and 2 reveal cracks at pressurized heater sleeves, forcing extended shutdowns	0	120
20	September 15, 1984	Athens, Alabama, United States	Safety violations, operator error, and design problems force 6 year outage at Browns Ferry Unit 2	0	110
20	August 27, 2009	St. Petersburg, Russia	A cracked discharge accumulator and malfunctioning feed pump force the Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant reactor number 3 to close for extended repairs	0	110

(1) As of February 2011. Does not include the unfolding March 2011 incident in Japan.
(2) Total economic losses, including destruction of property, emergency response, environmental remediation, evacuation, lost product, fines, and court and insurance claims.

Source: Benjamin K. Sovacool, Contesting the Future of Nuclear Power: A Critical Global Assessment of Atomic Energy (London: World Scientific, 2011).

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Facts + Statistics: Global catastrophes

Global Catastrophes

Nuclear incidents

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