A number of severe thunderstorms and flooding in the U.S. in May produced more than $1 billion in insurance claims and over $3 billion in economic losses, Aon Benfield’s Impact Forecasting said in a new report.
Huge thunderstorms and flooding in Texas and Oklahoma in May produced the worst of it, leading to 41 deaths and damages to more than 5,000 homes in Texas alone. Both states had the wettest May on record, Impact Forecasting said.
All of the rain and flooding prompted 412 preliminary reports of tornadoes by the U.S. Storm Prediction Center in May, Impact Forecast said.
Also worth noting: the rain reached 500 percent greater-than-normal values for May in some locations in both states, creating major riverine and flash flooding in regions that had been mired for years in drought, Steve Bowen, Impact Forecasting associate director and meteorologist, said in prepared remarks.
Impact Forecasting noted that there were plenty of “meteorologically active” events around the world in May. They included:
Major flooding in China that killed 81 people, damaged or destroyed close to 100,000 homes and caused more than $3 billion in combined economic losses.
Flash flooding in Australia that damaged both property and agriculture, leading to $280 million in insurance payouts.
India faced, and continues to face, a major heat wave that has killed at least 2,500 people – a near record in recent history, Impact Forecasting said.
A magnitude 7.3 earthquake near Mount Everest hit on May 12, killing at least 131 people in Nepal, India and China. Combined with similar Mount Everest earthquakes on April 25 and May 12, the death tool is close to 9,000.
Source; Aon Benfield/Impact Forecasting