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Houses stand in the floods of the Elbe river in Riesa, eastern Germany in June. Pic: AP Photo/dpa,Patrick Pleulile
LAST MONTH’S FLOODING in central Europe caused more than $16 billion or around €12.4 billion in damage, about a quarter of it insured — making it the year’s costliest natural disaster so far, a leading insurance company said yesterday.
Natural disasters worldwide cost the insurance industry a total of about $13 billion (€10 billion) in the January-June period, while the overall cost of disasters was some $45 billion (€35 billion), Munich Re AG said in a regular review of disaster costs.
Both figures were well below the average for the past decade.
Munich Re put insured losses from the flooding caused by the Elbe, Danube and several other rivers overflowing their banks at some $3.9 billion or more — most of them in Germany, but also in the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary.
That is a little higher than the $3.4 billion cost to insurers of floods that hit many of the same areas in 2002. The overall cost of those floods, including uninsured damage, was $16.5 billion.
The German government has set up an €8 billion fund to repair the damage.
Yesterday, the country’s national railway said part of a key high-speed line connecting Berlin with Frankfurt, Cologne and Amsterdam will remain shut for repairs “until further notice,” making time-consuming detours necessary.
Members of the Red Cross make their way by boat in a flooded street in the center of Passau, southern Germany in June. Pic: AP Photo/Matthias Schrader
Still, the flooding doesn’t appear likely to throw the country’s economy off course, since it didn’t hit major industrial areas.
“Politicians should not only set up emergency funds after catastrophes but should act with greater foresight, engaging in prudent supraregional flood control, which should ideally be coordinated across national borders,” Munich Re board member Torsten Jeworrek said in a statement.
A series of tornadoes in Oklahoma — including one that killed 24 people in Moore on May 20 — were the second-costliest disaster for insurers in the first six months of the year.
They caused insured losses of nearly $1.6 billion, while overall losses totaled $3.1 billion, Munich Re said. April’s earthquake in China’s Sichuan province caused $6.8 billion worth of damage but only a fraction of that — $25 million — was insured, the company said.
Flooding last month in the Canadian province of Alberta caused damage initially estimated at more than $3 billion, with insured losses likely to top $1 billion.
For the whole of last year, Munich Re has said, natural disasters cost insurers $65 billion — with Superstorm Sandy in the U.S. accounting for $25 billion.
It put total disaster costs at $160 billion or €124 billion. Munich Re is a reinsurer, meaning that it provides coverage to insurance companies for large losses stemming from events like natural disasters.
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Waterford Whispers News is brilliant. Nice one Colm
Colm Williamson is the best thing to happen to the Irish comedy scene since Enda Kenny was elected.
Classic comment @niall Roche
What do you do when you cannot write actual interesting articles? Write shite and get noticed that way. Muppet.
Enda would destroy Obama in a beauty and brains competition.
Barry, some of his stuff is pretty good. He has a great piece about drugs being sold ‘only 20 miles from a primary school.’ Surprised some people actually believed it but that doesn’t make it less funny. One persons comedy is another’s gospel maybe!
Totally agree. Just found WWN and it is very, very funny. Some of the articles are better than others but the political ones generally hit the nail on the head. Sure its been done before but its great we have an Irish “Onion” If anything its too clever for the general Irish dumb as f*** audience. Oh yeah and ugly too! :)
Same thing you do when you can’t make interesting/funny comments…..
He’s surprised at the fact that the majority of Obama haters are from Texas?? Duh!!
Didn’t Phil Mickelson once describe Irish Women as being the ugliest he ever saw!
Haha he did. People just can’t handle the truth
I’d take an Irish woman over Phil Mickleson any day
WWN rules.
Its the same as here, if you dont like it then dont read it :)
Hang on there now till I saddle up my High Horse… Giddy up! Seriously though, Waterford Whispers is hilarious.
She more than likely does think it ,just like the rest of us , but she ain’t going to say it in public
everyone should add WWN on facebook, funny out
A few Irish birds after been interviewed on channel 4 at Royal Ascot, they certainly didn’t fall from the ugly tree.
Gotta love WWN always quick off the mark
In stitches laughing : http://waterfordwhispersnews.com/2013/06/04/catholic-church-announces-its-gay/
One phrase to sum it all up:
“Oh silly Americans…”
Poor attempt at ‘The Onion’ type humour..
Let’s see you do better then. WWN is fantastic, especially as it’s just one guy in Waterford on his own. Fair play to him.
Funny version of the onion type humour.
Nordies, what did she expect.
I expect the Waterford Whispers offices will be wiped out in a drone strike in the near future…
I haven’t seen the article, but it sounds like it was either badly understood or badly written, or both. Satire is an alien concept to many people, particularly if they’re looking for an excuse to hop on the likes of Obama.
I’ve just read the WWN piece, which is fine. But the comments below it? I think my eyes are gonna bleed with all the raw hate I read there…
@Aindriú de Domhain .
he is hated in US by many for sevral reasons . Many believe him to be Muslim , many believe he is not a US citizen – and many believe he – believe it or not a Socialist -
—– tho Socilism, Liberalism etc have differnt meanings Iin US.
but he is aslo hated for all the lies he told and all the promises he failed to keep during and after the 2008 election — sound familar !!. Mr Hopey Changey himself .
Not very strangely he is not hated for being a war crimonal – as the US public is to a large extent misinformed or too lazy to get away from Fox news , crummy TV and cold beer .
He is not even – to a large extent – hated by the Poor in US – as to be Poor in US – well it s your own fault – not the fault of Capitalist robber barons .
America just got trolled.
There are mean, sadistic people in the US who will believe and perpetuate any negativity about the Obamas.. it’s not humor.. it’s bigotry. Such a shame.
Don’t cry Leslie. Its prob VD trying to piss you off coz he prob thinks it was you who copied his account
Wouldn’t be surprised lenny. How sad can one get
Satire 1 USA 0
They would believe anything!!
I did not for one minute believe that Michelle Obama said that, anyone who believed it is a fool, a stupid fool. People automatically believed it, and then started with their racist comments, just shows you the kind of people who believed it. For one she would never in a million years use that kind of language. She is a lady and a beautiful lady inside and out, so you intolerant ignorant IDIOTS take a leaf out of her book and get a life.
I didn’t realise that the journal was owned by the daily fail.
She’s dead right!
Oh the racists and birthers will LOVE this.
I would spit in Obama’s face!
You would not you fool
You would get tackled very hard very quickly.
We are ugly she’s right, white and ugly….
I think you missed the part where she didn’t say that. And we aren’t all white. Or ugly.
You are even if the sun shines….
If Williamson knew anything of the US political map and paid any attention at all to American current affairs, he wouldn’t have been surprised at the lack of support the Obama’s have in the red states.
He is possibly as naive as the American audience he fooled.
Ha remember that story that ran through all the papers that said Enda Kenny was the new Taoiseach..Ha Ha.
Which meant the majority of the people of ireland believed that FG were the best party to run the country..HaHa.
Great Comedy.OMG im gonna Peeee HaHaHa
Enda won the ugly m*****f***** competition title, formerly held by “Fatboy” Cowen.
The Village Idiot of the year competition is on in July. Edna’s going for 27 in a row.
We went on a school tour to glendaloch (I can’t spell!) and it was terrible then we go to another place this year and then the obamas are in glendaloch! I would have liked to go there this year :D
Glen-da-lough
Sorry I can’t spell lol
Bit of truth there though in fairness. Have you seen some of the creatures out here in oz.
I bet if you did put those words on her teleprompter that Mrs. POTUS would not even notice.
Let’s give this comment the definition it needs. Michelle Obama is a racist. It doesn’t have to be white on black, it can go the other way.
This happens so much with this website!
How many Americans clim to be Irish again?only sad people who are looking for uglier people then themselves would care to believe any of that rubbish, get a life.
have your say