Pakistan endures fifth year of billion-dollar flood events following September deluge, according to Impact Forecasting catastrophe report

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Oct 09, 2014, 01:14 ET

CHICAGO, Oct. 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Impact Forecasting, the catastrophe model development center of excellence at Aon Benfield, today releases the latest edition of its monthly Global Catastrophe Recap report, which reviews the natural disaster perils that occurred worldwide during September 2014. Aon Benfield is the global reinsurance intermediary and capital advisor of Aon plc (NYSE:AON).

The report reveals that torrential monsoon rains led to catastrophic flooding throughout parts of Pakistan and India, killing at least 648 people and damaging or destroying 375,000 homes. In India's Jammu and Kashmir region, the local government tentatively estimated economic losses of INR1.0 trillion (USD16 billion), while insured losses were estimated at INR9.0 billion (USD150 million). In Pakistan, government estimates cited economic losses in Punjab Province alone at PKR200 billion (USD2.0 billion), representing the fifth consecutive year that Pakistan has endured a billion-dollar flood event.

Elsewhere across Asia, seasonal rains produced flooding across parts of Thailand, China, and northeastern India, resulting in 200 fatalities, damage to 300,000 structures, and combined economic losses in excess of USD2.1 billion.

Adityam Krovvidi, head of Impact Forecasting Asia Pacific, said: "Floods causing significant economic losses are on the rise in Asia. Though the insured losses are very low for many events the potential for a big surprise like the 2011 Thai floods is high. Pearl River Delta and Ho Chi Minh City among others are good examples in the region. Impact Forecasting has recognized the potential for major insured losses and has been developing several realistic disaster scenarios (RDS) for Asian floods in addition to fully probabilistic models. Work is complete or in progress in Thailand, China, Vietnam, Jakarta and Malaysia."

Flooding was also prevalent in the United States during September; one event saw the remnants of Hurricane Norbert and Tropical Storm Dolly combine with monsoonal moisture to generate flash floods in Arizona, Nevada and California. Some locations recorded rainfall totals equal to a 1-in-1,000 year event, as total economic losses neared USD225 million, with insurance losses approaching USD100 million.

Hurricane Odile became the strongest storm on record to make landfall on Mexico's Baja Peninsula, killing five people and injuring 135 others when it came ashore near Cabo San Lucas. Tens of thousands of homes, structures and vehicles were damaged or destroyed, with total economic losses expected to reach the low-digit billions (USD). Infrastructure losses alone were listed at nearly MXN8.0 billion (USD596 million). Mexico's National Commission of Insurance and Bonds reported that preliminary insured losses were at least MXN7.0 billion (USD522 million).

Typhoon Kalmaegi made separate landfalls in the Philippines, China, and Vietnam, killing 31 people and producing combined economic losses of almost USD3.0 billion.

Tropical Storm Fung-Wong brought torrential rains to the Philippines, Taiwan, and China, killing at least 21 people, and causing extensive flooding in parts of the Philippine capital of Manila. Aggregated economic losses from Fung-Wong were recorded at USD232 million.

Meanwhile, wildfires burned across northern California that damaged hundreds of homes and structures. The cost of fighting the fires and economic damages were in excess of USD100 million.

Elsewhere, Mount Ontake erupted in Japan's central Honshu Island, killing at least 48 people, and a magnitude-4.9 earthquake killed at least 8 people and damaged approximately 150 structures in Peru.

To view the full Impact Forecasting September 2014 Global Catastrophe Recap report, please follow the link:

http://bit.ly/1vK1heJ

To access the Catastrophe Insight website, please visit:

www.aonbenfield.com/catastropheinsight

About Impact Forecasting® LLC

Impact Forecasting is a catastrophe modeling center of excellence whose seismologists, meteorologists, engineers, mathematicians, finance risk management and insurance professionals analyze the financial implications of natural and man-made catastrophes around the world. Impact Forecasting's experts develop software tools and models that help clients understand risks from hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, wildfires and terrorist attacks on property, casualty and crop insurers and reinsurers. To find out more about Impact Forecasting® LLC, visit www.impactforecasting.com.

About Aon Benfield

Aon Benfield, a division of Aon plc (NYSE: AON), is the world's leading reinsurance intermediary and full-service capital advisor. We empower our clients to better understand, manage and transfer risk through innovative solutions and personalized access to all forms of global reinsurance capital across treaty, facultative and capital markets. As a trusted advocate, we deliver local reach to the world's markets, an unparalleled investment in innovative analytics, including catastrophe management, actuarial and rating agency advisory. Through our professionals' expertise and experience, we advise clients in making optimal capital choices that will empower results and improve operational effectiveness for their business. With more than 80 offices in 50 countries, our worldwide client base has access to the broadest portfolio of integrated capital solutions and services. To learn how Aon Benfield helps empower results, please visit aonbenfield.com.

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