The report reveals that Hurricane Michael killed 45 people in the United States, as it became the strongest tropical cyclone on record to strike the Florida Panhandle and the fourth strongest hurricane to make landfall on the U.S. mainland.
While the Panhandle was most severely impacted by the hurricane, additional wind and flood-related damage was recorded throughout parts of Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland. Total economic losses from Michael – including physical damage and net loss business interruption – was forecast to exceed USD15 billion, with public and private insurers likely to incur payouts of at least USD8 billion.
Meanwhile, a complex severe weather outbreak impacted much of Italy and other countries across Southern and Central Europe during the last week of October and early November, killing 29 people in Italy alone as flooding, landslides, severe winds, and strong waves left widespread damage in the hardest-hit Italian regions of Liguria, Veneto, Lazio, and Trentino-Alto Adige. Total economic losses were expected to exceed USD3.4 billion, including a minimum of USD1.1 billion in Veneto alone. Additional economic impacts of at least USD270 million were registered in Austria.
Other costly and deadly flood events swept through Europe during the month – including the extratropical remnants of Hurricane Leslie coming ashore in Portugal – with a combined economic loss likely to minimally reach into the hundreds of millions (USD).
Michal Lorinc, an analyst within Impact Forecasting’s Catastrophe Insight team, said: “While the majority of the headlines in October centered around the significant impacts from Hurricane Michael, other regions of the globe additionally endured notable catastrophes. In Europe, a series of costly storm and flood events led to a multi-billion-dollar financial impact, with much of the damage incurred to property and agriculture in Italy. The continent, which has been marked by numerous windstorms, severe drought conditions, and prolonged flood events, is currently on track to have its costliest year for weather disasters since 2013.”
Further natural hazard events to have occurred worldwide during October include:
• Several significant typhoon events in Asia-Pacific, notably Super Typhoon Yutu.
• Multiple landfalling storms in Japan, including Typhoon Trami and Typhoon Kong-Rey, resulting in forecast aggregated economic losses in excess of USD1 billion.
• Cyclone Titli in India; resultant storm surge, high winds and inland flooding killed at least 85 people and prompted economic damage above USD920 million.
• A magnitude-5.9 earthquake off the northern coast of Haiti, which killed at least 18 people, injured more than 540 others, and damaged or destroyed nearly 20,000 homes.
To view the full Impact Forecasting October 2018 Global Catastrophe Recap report
Along with the report, users can access current and historical natural catastrophe data and event analysis on Impact Forecasting’s Catastrophe Insight website, which is updated bi-monthly as new data become available:
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