NU Online News Service, Feb. 4, 11:25 p.m. EST
Catastrophe modeler AIR Worldwide said insured losses from Cyclone Yasi in Australia will be between $354 million and $1.5 billion.
Meanwhile, forecasting service Tropical Storm Risk (TSR) said total insurance damage from Yasi will be about $3.6 billion.
AIR said its prediction includes only insured physical damage to onshore property and business interruption.
The cyclone, which hit Queensland, Australia around midnight on Wednesday as a Category 5 storm, damaged and destroyed homes, uprooted trees and downed power lines. Reportedly as many as 180,000 homes are without power.
Yesterday, catastrophe modeler EQECAT said it expects economic losses from Tropical Storm Yasi to be between $2 billion and $5 billion.
Aon Benfield, a co-sponsor of TSR, said economic damages from flooding in Australia during the month of January currently stand at about $5.65 billion and economic losses could reach between $10 billion and $20 billion after the cost of repairing and rebuilding.
AIR said Yasi's impact on more populated areas of the northeast coast, like the city of Cairns, was "less than expected." Newer commercial buildings suffered minor damage. The towns of Tully and Cardwell were hit hard, said AIR, with many buildings damaged. Tully residents are reporting "massive destruction" and more than 200 homes are damaged in Cardwell, reported AIR.
A similar storm, Cyclone Larry in 2006, caused about $547.7 million in insured loss at the time. Larry followed a similar path to Yasi.
Inland flooding should be minimal because Yasi was a fast storm and struck north of the regions hardest hit by flooding earlier this year and late last year, said AIR.
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