2017 Record-Breaking Year For Extreme Weather Damages; 11,500 Dead, $375 Billion In Direct Losses

[hatrack]

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"Of the 10 countries most affected in the last 20 years, eight were developing countries with low or low-middle incomes," David Eckstein, lead author of the report, said in a statement. "They have the fewest resources to protect themselves from the consequences of climate change or to compensate for their losses and therefore need particularly strong support." More than 11,500 people died and around $375 billion (€329 billion) worth of damages were incurred last year as a direct result of extreme weather incidents, researchers calculated.

Hurricane Maria, dubbed "catastrophe of the century," by Eckstein, wreaked havoc in both Puerto Rico and Dominica when it hit in September 2017. The category 5 hurricane decimated Puerto Rico's infrastructure, killing nearly 3,000 people.

In Dominica, thousands were rendered homeless and 90 percent of the country's roofs were destroyed. The tiny Caribbean island nation suffered around $1.2 billion of damages — losses double that of the country's GDP. That extreme event pushed the former country to the top slot in both the Climate Risk Index for 2017, as well as the long-term index that covered the last two decades (1998-2017). After Puerto Rico, Honduras is ranked second on the long-term index, followed by Myanmar, Haiti and the Philippines.

Sri Lanka, number two on the 2017 index, suffered heavy landslides and flooding in May 2017 after enduring the worst monsoon rains in more than a decade. More than 200 people were killed and at least 600,000 people displaced from their homes.

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https://www.dw.com/en/climate-risk-index-2017-broke-records-for-extreme-weather/a-46565140

[OnlinePoker]

1. "catastrophe of the century"

I'm sure the century has a lot worse in store in the remaining 81 years.