Climate change has raised the cost of natural disasters, as rising sea levels and drought increase the frequency and severity of flooding and wildfires, insurers and risk modeling experts say.

The list of the 10 most expensive events of the last decade provided to Reuters by risk modeling firm RMS all took place over the past five years.

While the biggest losses are in richer countries with more expensive assets, developing countries such as Pakistan, which suffered flooding this year that cost an estimated $3 billion, often bear the brunt of damaging weather events.

How to get money to poorer countries after climate disasters has been a dominant theme at the COP27 climate talks in Egypt, and insurance is seen as one way to do that.

On Monday, a G7-led plan dubbed “Global Shield” was launched at the conference to provide pre-arranged insurance and disaster protection funding to countries suffering climate disasters.

The disasters are ranked by economic losses, both insured and uninsured, with the costliest first.

1. California wildfires (2017-2018)

After a multi-year drought in California, numerous fires destroyed more than 100 million trees.

Worst fires: Tubbs Fire Oct 2017, Camp Fire Nov 2018

2017 loss: $180 billion

2017 deaths: 40

2018 loss: $148.5 billion

2018 deaths: 103

Total loss: $328.5 billion

2. Atlantic hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria (Aug.-Sept. 2017)

The three hurricanes devastated parts of Florida, Texas, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.

Harvey loss: $125 billion

Harvey deaths: 88

Irma loss: $65 billion

Irma deaths: 134

Maria loss: $107 billion

Maria deaths: 4,600

Total loss: $297 billion

3. Australian bushfires (2019-2020)

Nearly 11 months of fires affected 80 percent of Australians and killed or displaced at least three billion animals.

Total loss: $110 billion

Deaths: 34

4. Hurricane Ian, Florida (Sept. 2022)

The hurricane hit southwestern Florida and South Carolina, with a 4-meter-high storm surge on the west coast of Florida.

Total loss: more than $100 billion

Deaths: 101

5. Hurricane Ida (Aug. 2021)

The hurricane hit Louisiana and also brought heavy rain and flooding to New Jersey and New York.

Total loss: $75 billion

Deaths: 107

6. Floods in Germany and Belgium (July 2021)

From July 12-15, 2021, intense rainfall caused record river levels and left a trail of destruction, mainly in Belgium and Germany but also in Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

Total loss: 40 billion euros

Deaths: 230

7. Typhoons Faxai and Hagibis in Japan (Aug.-Oct. 2019)

The two typhoons hit central and eastern Japan, with Faxai causing 900,000 homes to lose power, while more than seven million people were told to evacuate due to Hagibis.

Faxai loss: $9.1 billion

Hagibis loss: $17 billion

Hagibis deaths: 85

Total loss: $26.1 billion

8. European heatwave (Summer 2022)

Central Europe suffered three heatwaves over the course of the summer, including the hottest temperature so far measured in Britain at 40.3 degrees Celsius (104.54°F).

Total loss: more than 10 billion euros ($10.43 billion)

Deaths: 1,500, as a result of excess heat

9. Northwestern U.S. and British Columbia Canada heatwave (June-July 2021)

An extreme heatwave from June 25 to July 1 across western Canada and the U.S. Pacific Northwest, also caused many wildfires.

Total loss: $8.9 billion

Fatalities: 1,400, as a result of excess heat

10. Pakistan floods (June-Aug. 2022)

Intense monsoon rains and unusual heat in the Karakoram Mountains led to unprecedented glacial melt, starting floods on June 14. Floodwaters in flat-lying Indus floodplains took months to recede. The floods displaced eight million people.

Total loss: $3 billion

Deaths: 1,717

Source: RMS

($1 = 0.9588 euros)

(Reporting by Carolyn Cohn and Simon Jessop; editing by Barbara Lewis)

Photograph: Seen in a long exposure photograph, embers light up hillsides as the Dixie Fire burns near Milford in Lassen County, Calif., on Aug. 17, 2021. Photo credit: AP Photo/Noah Berger.