Last year costliest on record for natural disasters

$380 billion. That's how much natural disasters cost the global economy in 2011, making it the costliest year on record. The toll was driven by the earthquakes that struck New Zealand in February and Japan in March.

Munich Re, one of the world's biggest reinsurance companies, has compiled data on the cost of natural disasters since 1980. It shows that the Japanese quake was the costliest disaster of all time, with losses of $210 billion - not including the nuclear incident at Fukushima.

More broadly, the figures reveal a clear rise in the financial losses associated with natural disasters over the past 30 years (see graph).

The number of earthquakes has remained stable since 1980 but their economic cost is rising - a reminder that quake risk should be recognised by town planners, say Munich Re.

In contrast, the number of weather-related events like floods and drought is rising. Evidence suggests this is linked to climate change, particularly in the case of extreme temperatures and rainfall, says Peter Stott of the UK Met Office in Exeter.

The cost of extreme temperatures, fires and droughts has remained stable, the Munich Re findings show, but floods and storms cost us more today than they did 30 years ago.

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