Natural disasters cost world $150 billion this year

The year 2020 has been ‘extreme’ for more reasons than one. In the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic, extreme weather events cost the world $150 billion this year — the worst was the Atlantic Hurricane season affecting the US and Central America at a whopping $40 billion.

Meanwhile, on the Indian coast, Cyclone Amphan cost India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka $13 billion. It also killed at least 42 people and displaced 4.9 million.

Despite the devastation caused by Cyclone Amphan, it’s only the fourth most expensive natural disaster to hit the world in 2020 caused by extreme weather.

In June, the People’s Republic of China saw intense flooding, which affected 35 million people and left at least 278 dead or missing.

The Yangtze river basin includes the densely populated regions of Sichuan, Guizhou, and Chongqing, which alone is home to more than 30 million people.

When it comes to extreme weather events, India has the Bay of Bengal on one side and its raging rivers on the other. Between June to October, the country saw many floods and landslides, culminating in damages of around $10 billion with over 2,000 fatalities.

Similar to the crisis that India saw, many countries in East Africa also saw the invasion of locusts in the early months of 2020. Locust swarms destroyed crops across Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and Uganda.

The World Bank pegs the cost of the event at $8.5 billion due to the loss of food and other ‘economic, human, and environmental impacts’.

Many windstorms hit Europe in 2020, but Ciara and Alex had the most impact. Their combined damage amounts to $5.9 billion.

In February, Ciara hit the UK and Ireland before moving eastward over the following weeks and covering ground across eight countries. It caused at least 14 deaths, and its estimated cost is $2.7 billion.