Disasters made 2011 most expensive year ever

The world faced total losses of $380 billion, over $150 billion more than 2005, the previous record year, according to a report by the Munich-based insurance company Munich Re.
But 2011 was not merely a year of financial losses, as over 27,000 lives were claimed by natural catastrophes.
The figures reveal that two-thirds of the final figure stem from earthquakes early in the year in Japan and New Zealand.
Normally, geophysical events like this account for just 10 percent of losses related to natural disasters.
“We had to contend with events which occur once every 1,000 years or more,” said Torsten Jeworrek, Munich Re board member
The largest single contributor to the year’s losses was the earthquake and tsunami near the port of Sendai, 370 kilometres north of Tokyo in March, killing over 16,000 The quake measured 9.0 on Richter scale is believed to be the most powerful earthquake in Japan’s history, causing waves of up to 40 metres to sweep across huge areas and caused total losses of around $210 billion, mainly caused by the tsunami and the subsequent nuclear disaster at the Fukushima power plant. Japan has strict building rules that minimize earthquake damage to buildings.
Of the $380 billion total, Munich Re’s study reveals that only $105 billion was insured, meaning it can be reclaimed.
“It is the insurance industry's task to cover extreme losses, in order to help society cope with natural disaster,” said Jeworrek.

Reference: http://www.thelocal.de/national/20120105-39935.html