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3d ago

Natural Catastrophes Cost $131 Billion in First Half of 2025

This shortfall in coverage underscores how communities remain exposed to rapidly intensifying climate risks.

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Gebäude entlang des Pacific Coast Highway wurden durch den Palisades-Brand in Kalifornien beschädigt.
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Overview

  • Global natural disasters caused $131 billion in damages in the first half of 2025, the second-highest first-half total since 1980.
  • Only $80 billion of those losses were insured, leaving a $51 billion gap that exposes communities to mounting climate risks.
  • Disasters in the United States accounted for about $92 billion, or 70% of global losses, driven by storms and a record $53 billion wildfire in California.
  • A magnitude 7.7 earthquake in Myanmar on March 28 killed around 4,500 people, making it the deadliest event of the period.
  • Thawing permafrost in the Alps triggered a rock-ice avalanche in Valais canton that destroyed 130 houses and caused about $0.5 billion in damages.