Billion-dollar disasters: The economic toll of wildfires, severe storms and earthquakes is soaring

A new report highlights the growing insurance crisis playing out in parts of the country that are prone to frequent weather disasters.

Weather disasters in the first half of this year have cost the United States $93 billion in damage, according to a report released Tuesday by a German multinational insurance company.

The analysis by Munich Re, the world’s largest reinsurer, found that more than 70% of all damage globally from weather disasters so far this year occurred in the U.S., with uninsured Americans and their local governments experiencing a whopping $22 billion in damage.

The report shows the soaring economic toll that wildfires, severe storms and other extreme events are exacting in the U.S. and globally. The findings also highlight the growing insurance crisis playing out in parts of the country that are prone to frequent weather disasters.

“We have seen some 90% of all losses for the insurance industry — so 72 out of 80 billion U.S. dollars — have happened in the U.S.,” said Tobias Grimm, Munich Re’s chief climate scientist. “That’s extraordinary.”