August 29, 2006: HURRICANE DAMAGES SOAR TO NEW LEVELS: Insurance Companies Abandoning Homeowners in High-Risk Coastal Areas

Data files for HURRICANE DAMAGES SOAR TO NEW LEVELS
Insurance Companies Abandoning Homeowners in High-Risk Coastal Areas

Hurricanes and Typhoons with Economic Losses of One Billion Dollars or More, 1950-2005 (table)

Economic Losses from Billion-Dollar Hurricanes and Typhoons by Decade, 1950-2005 (figure)

Annual Economic Losses from Billion-Dollar Hurricanes and Typhoons, 1950-2005 (figure)

Insured Losses from Billion-Dollar Hurricanes and Typhoons by Decade, 1950-2005 (figure)

Annual Insured Losses from Billion-Dollar Hurricanes and Typhoons, 1950-2005 (figure)

Top 20 Ranking of Most Costly Hurricanes and Typhoons, 1950-2005 (table)

Number of Hurricanes in Categories 4 and 5 for the 15-Year Periods 1975–1989 and 1990–2004 for the Different Ocean Basins (table)

Hurricane Classification: The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale (table)

Hurricanes and Typhoons with Economic Losses of One Billion Dollars or More, 1950-2005
Year	Loss Event	Area Affected	Economic Losses	Insured Losses
			Billion Dollars (Original Value)

1960	Hurricane Donna	Caribbean, United States	1.3	0.1
1965	Hurricane Betsy	United States	1.4	0.5
1969	Hurricane Camille	United States	1.4	0.2

1960s SUM			4.1	0.8

1972	Hurricane Agnes, floods	United States	2.0	0.1
1977	2 Tropical cyclones	India	1.0	0.0
1979	Hurricane David	Caribbean, United States	2.0	0.8
1979	Hurricane Frederic	Caribbean, United States	2.3	0.8

1970s SUM			7.3	1.7

1980	Hurricane Allen	Caribbean, United States	1.5	0.1
1983	Hurricane Alicia	United States	3.0	1.5
1985	Hurricane Elena	United States	1.3	0.6
1985	Hurricane Juan	United States	1.5	0.1
1985	Hurricane Kate	Caribbean, United States	1.6	0.1
1986	Typhoon Sarah (No. 10)	Japan	2.2	0.1
1988	Hurricane Gilbert	Caribbean, Central America, United States	3.0	0.8
1988	Hurricane Joan, Miriam	Central America, South America	1.0	0.0
1989	Hurricane Hugo	Caribbean, United States, Canada	9.0	4.5

1980s SUM			24.1	7.8

1990	8 Typhoons	China	1.2	0.0
1990	Typhoon Flo (No. 19)	Japan	4.0	0.2
1991	Tropical cyclone	Bangladesh	3.0	0.1
1991	Hurricane Bob	United States	1.5	0.7
1991	Typhoon Mireille (No. 19)	Japan	10.0	5.4
1992	Hurricane Andrew	United States, Bahamas	26.5	17.0
1992	Hurricane Iniki	United States	3.0	1.6
1993	Tropical storm Beatriz	Mexico	1.7	0.0
1993	Typhoon Yancy (No. 13)	Japan	1.3	1.0
1994	Tropical cyclone Alberto	United States	1.0	0.1
1994	Typhoon Fred	China, Japan, Taiwan	1.2	0.0
1995	Hurricane Luis	Caribbean, United States, Canada	2.5	1.5
1995	Hurricane Marilyn	Caribbean, United States	2.1	1.0
1995	Hurricane Opal	United States, Mexico	3.0	2.1
1995	Hurricane Roxanne	Mexico, Cuba	1.5	0.2
1995	Tropical storm Ted	China	1.0	0.0
1996	Typhoon Herb	China, Taiwan	1.2	0.1
1996	Hurricane Fran	United States	5.2	1.8
1996	Typhoon Sally	China, Vietnam, Taiwan	1.5	0.0
1996	Tropical cyclone	India	1.5	0.0
1997	Typhoon Winnie	Japan, Taiwan, China, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Northern Mariana Islands	2.8	0.0
1998	Tropical cyclone 03A	India	1.7	0.4
1998	Hurricane Bonnie	United States	1.5	0.4
1998	Hurricane Georges	Caribbean, United States	13.0	4.0
1998	Typhoon No. 7/8 Vicki and Waldo	Japan	3.0	1.6
1998	Hurricane Mitch	Central America, United States	5.5	0.2
1999	Hurricane Floyd	United States, Bahamas	4.5	2.2
1999	Typhoon Bart (No. 18)	Japan, Republic of Korea	5.0	3.5
1999	Tropical cyclone 05B	India	2.5	0.1

1990s SUM			113.3	45.2

2000	Typhoon Saomai, floods	Japan, South Korea, Guam, Russia	1.5	1.1
2001	Tropical storm Allison, flood	United States	6.0	3.5
2002	Typhoon Rusa	South Korea, North Korea	4.9	0.2
2002	Hurricane Lili	Caribbean, United States	2.0	0.8
2003	Typhoon Maemi	Japan, South Korea	4.5	0.5
2003	Hurricane Isabel	United States, Canada	5.0	2.1
2004	Hurricane Charley	Caribbean, United States	18.0	8.0
2004	Typhoon Rananim (No.13)	China, Taiwan	2.2	0.0
2004	Typhoon Chaba (No.16)	Japan, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Russia	2.0	1.2
2004	Hurricane Frances	Caribbean, United States	12.0	6.0
2004	Typhoon Songda (No.18)	Japan, South Korea	9.0	4.7
2004	Hurricane Ivan	Caribbean, South America, United States	23.0	13.0
2004	Hurricane Jeanne, floods	Caribbean, United States	9.2	5.0
2004	Typhoon Tokage (No.23)	Japan	2.3	1.3
2005	Hurricane Dennis	Caribbean, United States	3.1	1.2
2005	Typhoon Haitang (No. 5)	China, Taiwan	1.1	0.1
2005	Hurricane Katrina, storm surge	United States	125.0	60.0
2005	Typhoon Talim (No. 13), floods	China, Taiwan	1.9	0.0
2005	Hurricane Rita, storm surge	United States	16.0	11.3
2005	Typhoon Damrey (No. 18)	Philippines, China, Vietnam, Thailand	1.2	0.0
2005	Hurricane Stan, floods, landslides	Central America	3.5	0.1
2005	Hurricane Wilma	Caribbean, Central America, United States	20.0	12.2

2000-2005 SUM			273.4	132.1

TOTAL SUM, 1950-2005			422.2	187.6

Note: Strong tropical cyclones are called hurricanes in the North Atlantic and typhoons in the Northwest Pacific.
Source: Munich Re, NatCatSERVICE (Munich, Germany: August 2006).

Top 20 Ranking of Most Costly Hurricanes and Typhoons, 1950-2005
Year	Loss Event	Area Affected	Economic Losses	Insured Losses
			Billion Dollars (Original Value)

2005	Hurricane Katrina, storm surge	United States	125.0	60.0
1992	Hurricane Andrew	United States, Bahamas	26.5	17.0
2004	Hurricane Ivan	Caribbean, South America, United States	23.0	13.0
2005	Hurricane Wilma	Caribbean, Central America, United States	20.0	12.2
2004	Hurricane Charley	Caribbean, United States	18.0	8.0
2005	Hurricane Rita, storm surge	United States	16.0	11.3
1998	Hurricane Georges	Caribbean, United States	13.0	4.0
2004	Hurricane Frances	Caribbean, United States	12.0	6.0
1991	Typhoon Mireille (No. 19)	Japan	10.0	5.4
2004	Hurricane Jeanne, floods	Caribbean, United States	9.2	5.0
2004	Typhoon Songda (No.18)	Japan, South Korea	9.0	4.7
1989	Hurricane Hugo	Caribbean, United States, Canada	9.0	4.5
2001	Tropical storm Allison, flood	United States	6.0	3.5
1998	Hurricane Mitch	Central America, United States	5.5	0.2
1996	Hurricane Fran	United States	5.2	1.8
2003	Hurricane Isabel	United States, Canada	5.0	2.1
1999	Typhoon Bart (No. 18)	Japan, Republic of Korea	5.0	3.5
2002	Typhoon Rusa	South Korea, North Korea	4.9	0.2
2003	Typhoon Maemi	Japan, South Korea	4.5	0.5
1999	Hurricane Floyd	United States, Bahamas	4.5	2.2

Note: Strong tropical cyclones are called hurricanes in the North Atlantic and typhoons in the Northwest Pacific.
Source: Munich Re, NatCatSERVICE (Munich, Germany: August 2006).

Number of Hurricanes in Categories 4 and 5 for the 15-Year Periods 1975–1989 and 1990–2004 for the Different Ocean Basins
Basin	Period
	1975-1989	1990-2004
	Number
East Pacific	36	49
West Pacific	85	116
North Atlantic	16	25
Southwestern Pacific	10	22
North Indian	1	7
South Indian	23	50

Source: Adapted by Earth Policy Institute from P.J. Webster et al., "Changes in Tropical Cyclone Number, Duration, and Intensity in a Warming Environment," Science, vol. 309 (16 September 2005), pp. 1844-46.

Hurricane Classification: The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale

The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale is a 1-5 rating based on hurricane intensity. This is used to give an estimate of the potential property damage and flooding expected along the coast from a hurricane landfall. Wind speed is the determining factor in the scale, as storm surge values are highly dependent on the slope of the continental shelf and the shape of the coastline in the landfall region.

Category One Hurricane:

Winds 74-95 miles per hour (64-82 knots or 119-153 kilometers per hour). Storm surge generally 4-5 feet (1.2-1.5 meters) above normal. No real damage to building structures. Damage primarily to unanchored mobile homes, shrubbery, and trees. Some damage to poorly constructed signs. Also, some coastal road flooding and minor pier damage.

Category Two Hurricane:

Winds 96-110 mph (83-95 kt or 154-177 km/hr). Storm surge generally 6-8 feet above normal. Some roofing material, door, and window damage of buildings. Considerable damage to shrubbery and trees with some trees blown down. Considerable damage to mobile homes, poorly constructed signs, and piers. Coastal and low-lying escape routes flood 2-4 hours before arrival of the hurricane center. Small craft in unprotected anchorages break moorings.

Category Three Hurricane:

Winds 111-130 mph (96-113 kt or 178-209 km/hr). Storm surge generally 9-12 feet above normal. Some structural damage to small residences and utility buildings with a minor amount of curtainwall failures. Damage to shrubbery and trees with foliage blown off trees and large trees blown down. Mobile homes and poorly constructed signs are destroyed. Low-lying escape routes are cut by rising water 3-5 hours before arrival of the center of the hurricane. Flooding near the coast destroys smaller structures with larger structures damaged by battering from floating debris. Terrain continuously lower than 5 feet above mean sea level may be flooded inland 8 miles (13 km) or more. Evacuation of low-lying residences with several blocks of the shoreline may be required.

Category Four Hurricane:

Winds 131-155 mph (114-135 kt or 210-249 km/hr). Storm surge generally 13-18 feet above normal. More extensive curtainwall failures with some complete roof structure failures on small residences. Shrubs, trees, and all signs are blown down. Complete destruction of mobile homes. Extensive damage to doors and windows. Low-lying escape routes may be cut by rising water 3-5 hours before arrival of the center of the hurricane. Major damage to lower floors of structures near the shore. Terrain lower than 10 feet above sea level may be flooded requiring massive evacuation of residential areas as far inland as 6 miles (10 km).

Category Five Hurricane:

Winds greater than 155 mph (135 kt or 249 km/hr). Storm surge generally greater than 18 ft above normal. Complete roof failure on many residences and industrial buildings. Some complete building failures with small utility buildings blown over or away. All shrubs, trees, and signs blown down. Complete destruction of mobile homes. Severe and extensive window and door damage. Low-lying escape routes are cut by rising water 3-5 hours before arrival of the center of the hurricane. Major damage to lower floors of all structures located less than 15 feet above sea level and within 500 yards (457 meters) of the shoreline. Massive evacuation of residential areas on low ground within 5-10 miles (8-16 km) of the shoreline may be required. Only 3 Category Five Hurricanes have made landfall in the United States since records began: The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, Hurricane Camille in 1969, and Hurricane Andrew in August 1992.

Source: Adapted by Earth Policy Institute from U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Hurricane Center, "The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale," updated 22 June 2006.

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