NU Online News Service, April 4, 3:40 p.m. EDT
The Mexican earthquake in early April with effects in California created a loss for insurers estimated at more than $300 million, according to reinsurance broker Aon Benfield.
The "Monthly Cat Recap" report released by Aon Benfield, a subsidiary of Chicago-based reinsurance broker Aon Corp., said that economists estimate that the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck Baja California, Mexico, on April 4 produced economic damage greater than $1 billion and insured losses of more than $300 million.
The quake was felt in Southern California where the town of Calexico was most affected. Total economic losses across Imperial County, Calif., are estimated at $91 million, according to the report.
The epicenter of the main earthquake was 11 miles west-southwest of Guadalupe Victoria in Mexico. The Mexican town of Mexicali was hardest hit by the event, with 25,000 residents left homeless and two people killed.
Steve Jakubowski, president of Impact Forecasting, Aon Benfield's catastrophe modeler, said the intensity of the quake was felt throughout northwestern Mexico.
"It also impacted southern California, but economic losses, insured losses and loss of life or injury were far lower due to a lower population density and more robust structures," he said in a statement. "This event is also a reminder that, based on historical activity, California is overdue for a significant earthquake."
Noting the recent eruption of the volcano in Iceland that disrupted airline service for over a week, the report said that the incident "proved to be one of this year's most disruptive and costly natural hazards."
While there was no loss of life or known damage from the Iceland event, a plume of ash emanating from the volcano resulted in the cancellation of 102,000 flights globally and extensive disruption for more than seven million travelers.
With airplanes remaining grounded over a period of days, airlines' lost revenue was estimated at $2.6 billion, while insurance losses were relatively very minor, forecast to be at $10 million.
There were several other major natural catastrophe events, the report noted, but did not cite insured losses from those events.
Asia suffered a series of natural perils in April. Severe thunderstorms killed more than 137 people in eastern India and Bangladesh, damaging or destroying in excess of 200,000 homes and leaving at least one million people homeless--possibly the greatest number of people ever to be left homeless as a result of thunderstorm, Aon Benfield said.
In China, a strong earthquake in Qinghai Province killed at least 2,220 people, injured more than 12,000 others and damaged or destroyed 25,000 structures. Heavy rainfall in Hunan Province and southern China led to several deaths and the destruction of thousands of homes. A fierce sandstorm in Gansu Province damaged more than 1,000 homes as well as more than 511,000 acres of crops.
Additionally, a magnitude 7.7 earthquake in Northern Sumatra, Indonesia, injured at least 62 people and damaged more than 1,000 homes.
In South America, heavy rains inundated northeast Peru, killing at least 28 people and injuring 54 others. Meanwhile, the heaviest rains in 48 years led to severe flooding in Brazil, killing 256 people and injuring hundreds more, and causing an estimated economic loss of $207 million.
And in Western Australia, a magnitude-5.2 earthquake damaged at least 80 buildings and precipitated a $4.6 million relief effort to restore damaged historical structures.
