A report analyzing natural disasters in Asia estimates that weather-related losses for 2021 to be $72 billion USD, making it the third costliest year on record after adjusting for inflation.
The 2021 Weather, Climate and Catastrophe Insight report, published by Aon plc, a leading global professional services firm, evaluates the increasing frequency and severity of disruptive natural disasters and how their resulting economic losses are protected globally.
The report reveals a total of $343 billion in economic losses globally in 2021, $329 billion of which resulted from weather and climate-related events. While losses were up from 2020 globally, the number of notable disaster events slightly decreased, demonstrating the heightened costliness and severity of these events.
For Asia, after three consecutive years (2018-2020) of economic losses topping $100 billion, the toll dipped to $72 billion in 2021. Of the 2021 losses, insurance covered only 9 percent of the losses compared to 38 percent of the losses covered globally.
Key findings in Asia include:
Approximately 10,500 people lost their lives due to global natural catastrophe events in 2021; 46 percent of the fatalities occurred in Asia.
Flooding throughout Asia was the primary driver of disaster-related fatalities during the year, further accentuated by the trend of urbanisation, leading to higher population density.
Flash flooding in Henan in July led to an economic loss of $18.6 billion, and a record-breaking $1.9 billion in covered losses, the costliest weather-related event for the Chinese insurance industry
Super Typhoon Rai was the deadliest tropical cyclone of the year. Its landfall in late December left 409 people dead in the Philippines and one in Vietnam. Rai became the third-costliest typhoon on record in the Philippines.
Seasonal flooding in India led to 1,282 deaths.
The costliest tropical cyclone in Asia was India's Cyclone Yaas, with almost $3 billion in economic losses.
Malaysia encountered its costliest and most extensive flood event on record in December, with total economic losses topping $2 billion.
In Japan, the most damaging catastrophes were attributed to the earthquake peril. The combined economic loss was nearly $9 billion, mainly from the Fukushima (February) and Miyagi (March) events.
Taiwan set a new national temperature record of 40.6°C (105.1°F) on 11 August.
"Many Asian communities are exposed to increasingly volatile weather conditions that are in part enhanced by the growing effects of climate change," said Brad Weir, head of Analytics, Asia for Reinsurance Solutions at Aon. "This includes record-setting rainfall and flooding, intense landfalling tropical cyclones, droughts and winter storms.”
Courtesy of Aon
