It is clearly too early to estimate the cost of the damage caused by the Ciaran crossing. But if we look at the level of bills that had to be paid after the latest, strongest storms that hit France, we can expect huge expenses.
The record in this area is still held by Lothar and Martin, two huge storms that hit much of France in December 1999. At that time, direct damage was estimated at around one hundred billion francs or 15 billion euros. But if we take inflation into account, this sum is equivalent today to 22 billion euros. Then came Klaus in 2009 (4.2 billion euros) and Xynthia, the following year (2.5 billion euros).
2022, the most expensive year since 1999
Beyond the cost of these exceptionally intense storms, what is striking is the increase in the cost of all the natural disasters that have affected France: 10 billion euros last year. Therefore, 2022 appears to be the worst year since 1999. And insurance industry experts expect this bill to increase considerably. An increase of 40% by 2050 according to the latest forecasts of the Central Reinsurance Fund.
This upward trend is obviously global. If we leave aside the years 2011 with the terrible tsunami that devastated the Fukushima region in Japan and 2017 with its series of destructive hurricanes (Harvey, Irma, Maria), during the previous decade the bill remained between 100 and 200 billion Dollars. by year.
Since 2020 this is no longer the case, as the cost of direct damage caused by natural disasters has consistently exceeded 200 billion. In the last two years, it has even approached $300 billion ($280 billion in 2021, 275 in 2022, according to reinsurer SwissRe).
Source: BFM TV
