NU Online News Service, Nov. 3, 2:58 p.m. EDT

Flooding, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake and tsunami combination, and a super typhoon highlighted what was a busy October for catastrophes, in what has already been an active year, Aon Benfield said in a new report.

"The breadth of natural catastrophes occurring this month is a continuation of an already active year in terms of global activity," said Steve Jakubowski, president of Impact Forecasting, Aon Benfield, in a statement.

In the U.S., October saw the second strongest non-tropical or post-tropical low pressure system ever recorded in the continental U.S., Aon Benfield said. The system brought "severe weather, extremely gusty winds, torrential rains and heavy snows to eastern sections of the country" between Oct. 25 and Oct. 28. Multiple tornadoes touched down in Illinois and damaging wind was reported across Missouri, Illinois and Wisconsin.