OREANDA-NEWS. The ten most financially significant natural disasters of 2021 caused damage totaling more than $170 billion, which is about $20 billion more than a year earlier. The increase in the total amount of damage by about 13 percent reflects the consequences of anthropogenic climate change, the British humanitarian organization Christian Aid explained on Monday, December 27.

According to it, the Hurricane Ida was the natural disaster that had the greatest financial impact in 2021. The hurricane strucked the eastern part of the United States at the end of August and caused severe flooding in the New York area. Christian Aid estimates the damage it caused at $65 billion.

In second place is the flooding in Germany and Belgium in July with a total damage of $43 billion. The list also includes a cold snap in the US state of Texas and flooding in the Chinese province of Henan.

The organization recognized that the list mainly includes natural disasters that occurred in rich countries. In poorer countries, financial damage from natural disasters is often difficult to calculate, since infrastructure is not insured, the report notes. In mid-December, Swiss reinsurance concern Swiss Re estimated global losses from natural disasters in 2021 at $250 billion, the AFP news agency reminds. Compared to 2020, losses increased by almost a 24 percent.