Environment

Report: Most Expensive Natural Disasters in 2011 Were Unrelated to Climate and Weather

Japan Earthquake TsunamiAccording to a report from Munich Re, a reinsurance group in Germany, 2011 was a record year for costly natural disasters. Racking up $380 billion in economic losses, disasters last year cost more than two times that of the disasters in 2010.

While proponents of man-made global warming believe that the changing climate will increase the number of natural disasters, resulting in expenses and loss of life, this report shows that it’s all about location — not necessarily cause or number. Of the 820 natural disasters worldwide last year, only two events account for two-thirds of the total economic loss and they are not attributable to “climate change” or weather.

The two events in the first half of last year comprising the majority of the cost were the 9.0 magnitude earthquake that caused a devastating tsunami in Japan in March and the 6.3 magnitude earthquake that hit New Zealand in February.

Nature has more analysis on why natural disasters are getting more expensive:

And the long-term rise in the costs of global disasters is probably due mainly to socio-economic changes, such as population growth and development in vulnerable regions. That conclusion is backed up by a forthcoming study–supported by Munich Re–by economists Fabian Barthel and Eric Neumayer at the London School of Economics. Their analysis of events worldwide between 1990 and 2008 concludes that “the accumulation of wealth in disaster-prone areas is and will always remain by far the most important driver of future economic disaster damage” (F. Barthel and E. Neumayer Climatic Change; in the press). Any major weather event hitting densely populated areas now causes huge losses because the value of the infrastructure has increased tremendously, they note, adding that if the 1926 Great Miami hurricane happened today, for example, it would cause much more damage than it did at the time.

The report describes the total number of disasters as “in line” with the average number of natural disasters expected each year, but notes that disasters caused by weather have tripled over the last 30 years. The report states that 90 percent of the natural disasters last year were caused by weather. Though disasters caused by weather did not comprise the majority of the expense last year, the report states weather-related disasters usually are the most costly.

A 2008 Natural Resources Defense Council report states that the U.S. should expect more than $500 trillion in damages from global warming-related natural disasters, if abatement techniques are not put in place to drastically reduce emission levels. A more recent study by National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy for Canada states that the country could lose as much as $5 billion in 2020 from climate change-related weather events affecting public health and prosperity.

“It would not seem plausible that climate change doesn’t play a role in the substantial rise in weather-related disasters,” says Ernst Rauch, head of Munich Re’s Corporate Climate Centre.

But Nature notes that metrics attributing natural disasters, and their subsequent economic losses, to global warming are not yet reliable.

“Disasters are a tempting image for advocacy, but the science is just not there to support strong claims,” Roger Pielke Jr, a climate-policy researcher at the University of Colorado, Boulder, in a separate Nature article. “We cannot yet attribute increasing dollar losses to human-caused climate change. Maybe we will one day, but not at present.”

[H/T Scientific American]

Comments (38)

  • the point
    Posted on January 13, 2012 at 10:06am

    If they were unrelated to climate and weather , they will blame it on Bush, as usual.

    Report Post »  
  • Melvin Spittle
    Posted on January 12, 2012 at 6:08pm

    The insults to Mother Earth [praise be unto Her] will not go unanswered and what we are experiencing is the rejection of the human virus that plagues Her domain! This will be facilitated by Her true believers and they will be rewarded with 72 tons of Granola bars each!

    The environment has become a religion to these idiots.

    Report Post » Melvin Spittle  
  • Al Gored
    Posted on January 12, 2012 at 8:16am

    What happened to the increase in hurricane strength and numbers?
    Shouldn’t we be seeing stronger and more hurricanes?

    Al Gored, Didn’t you predict this in your book.
    You know, the book with the jacket that shows the hurricanes rotating in the wrong direction in the northern hemisphere.

    To start with, can we trust the numbers coming from NOAA?
    From:
    Palm Beach Weather Matters

    NOAA adds one tropical storm in end-of-season analysis
    By: John Nelander Tuesday, November 29, 2011, 09:04 AM
    http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/palmbeach/weather1/entries/2011/11/29/noaa_adds_one_tropical_storm_i.html

    “Also getting a post-storm upgrade was Tropical Storm Nate, which analysts now believe was actually a hurricane.

    ‘This unnamed storm, along with several other weak, short-lived named storms, could have gone undetected without modern satellite technology,’ NOAA said in a news release marking the end of the 2011 hurricane season.”

    How do we compare past storm season numbers with recent years?
    answer:
    Eliminate the storms found with modern technology when comparing storm seasons.
    2011 was a less active hurricane season than you are being told.

    Report Post »  
  • SpankDaMonkey
    Posted on January 11, 2012 at 2:49pm

    .
    I blame it all on Barry’s Purple Lips & Moochell’s fat behind……

    Fat Behind = Earth Quake

    Her Fat Behind Farting all the time, and Barry’s purple lips a flapping = Global Warming

    Report Post » SpankDaMonkey  
    • BetterDays
      Posted on January 11, 2012 at 2:52pm

      Funny, like a broken sink I recall, blame it on the Carl Vinson and the Enterprise, on on cats gone wild.
      Butt to be fair to “an angry black woman and her fascist husband” not everything is entirely their fault, they had help from the socialists too!

      Report Post »  
  • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
    Posted on January 11, 2012 at 2:31pm

    Once again we can see how those idiots who try to cram global warming down our throats will use such things as a pair of earthquakes to advance their ideology; as the article shows, global disasters are part of natutre.

    Read man made disasters:

    United Nations.
    Barak Obama
    Harry Reid
    Progressives
    Communists
    Socialists
    Dictators
    Radical Extremists
    Eco Terrorists
    All the current administration.

    Report Post » Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
    • survivorseed
      Posted on January 11, 2012 at 3:28pm

      Once again a feline obsessed redneck has failed to comprehend a story and come to the wrong conclusion. You could get a job at fox.

      Report Post »  
    • 1TrueOne55
      Posted on January 11, 2012 at 10:27pm

      SaviourSeed needs to get out of the seed vault in Norway and see the world for what it is. A dynamic force that can not be tamed by human engineering no matter how hard they try. And that proves another point that you can be considered so smart that you are really stupid.

      What the article states is that events in Nature can not be predicted and that when people get richer they try to think that they can beat Nature(God’s forces on Earth) with smarter technology, reality proves you wrong. No matter how strong you build it some aspect of Nature will still be able to destroy your creation. New Orleans proves that simple fact, but people still want to live underwater and Nature will provide another test in the future that may kill more people in that town.

      But leave felines out of this since they are a hell a lot smarter than you are.

      Report Post » 1TrueOne55  
  • HotFixIt
    Posted on January 11, 2012 at 2:26pm

    The glaciers that once covered North America melted too… I wonder how we caused that too???? Did someone go back in time to do it? Maybe someone figured out how to send all our “global man made carbon” back then and caused it!!! Oh, where I live now in West Texas was an Ocean at one time… wonder how we are going to ‘fix’ that!

    Report Post »  
    • HotFixIt
      Posted on January 11, 2012 at 2:30pm

      oops, meant to say man made CO2 not carbon….

      Report Post »  
  • mbriz
    Posted on January 11, 2012 at 2:26pm

    They also say on their website in regards to global warming:
    It is one of the greatest risks facing mankind. In recent years, Munich Re has actively supported and advanced climate protection and adaptation to global warming.
    Once again the blaze only reports part of the story that suits becks agenda, and you clones lap it up. Even the Koch brother scientist they bought to disprove G.W. confirmed the fact, and that it was manmade. Ignore the 98% of the world scientist, becky’s got all the answers.

    Report Post » mbriz  
  • bernbart
    Posted on January 11, 2012 at 2:25pm

    Once again blaze refuses to allow posts with the truth

    Report Post »  
    • BetterDays
      Posted on January 11, 2012 at 2:49pm

      Not true, mine got through just fine, so did everyone elses.
      Oh, you wouldn’t be one of those, demises of the fact that the global temperature has declined every year since 1998, or that man could actually make a discernible difference with every single red cent globally for two decades to reversing the issue. Even the much vaunted PennState study said at “best, with unanimous and total global population participation in stoping greenhouse gas emissions the total temperature decline over a DECADE would be .0125 degrees C.” just how stupid do you think we are, get your fingers off my wallet before you pull back stumps.

      Report Post »  
  • bernbart
    Posted on January 11, 2012 at 2:23pm

    Now that there is factual proof that global warming is happening, and at a faster rate than predicted, the deniers are claiming it is gods work not from carbon created by humans. Not doing anything about it will cost us a lot more in the long run.

    Report Post »  
  • BetterDays
    Posted on January 11, 2012 at 2:23pm

    Natural disaster, like the one at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, the one that’s cost us 6 trillion and counting?

    Report Post »  
    • lodgerat
      Posted on January 11, 2012 at 2:31pm

      Ya but that’s one disaster we can fix….NoBama 2012
      TEA

      Report Post » lodgerat  
    • BetterDays
      Posted on January 11, 2012 at 2:40pm

      Lodgerat
      Lol, only if we don’t replace him with a republicrat.
      Constitution first, tea second.

      Report Post »  
  • cemerius
    Posted on January 11, 2012 at 2:20pm

    Ha Ha! Thats because they didn‘t factor in Al Gore’s continually growing bank account or all the FAILS attributed in the name of global warming/climate change!! Factor those in and I betcha we would have a world ALL TIME record of losses……..

    Report Post » cemerius  
  • BetterDays
    Posted on January 11, 2012 at 2:18pm

    The most expensive one is in the white house, and wants another trillion dollars.( In order to not irritate my fellows I’ll avoid the temptation to put in a note in favor of Ron Paul/)

    Report Post »  
  • azitdad
    Posted on January 11, 2012 at 2:16pm

    My Geology teacher taught us the glaciers started melting in Iceland, EIGHT-THOUSAND-YEARS-AGO! That’s about 7900 years before the internal combustion engine. Just sayin’.

    Report Post » azitdad  
    • TXPilot
      Posted on January 11, 2012 at 2:24pm

      @AZITDAD……Have you seen, where the global warming nuts are now trying to regulate cow flatulence, because they say that too, contributes? If that is true, I’m guessing that back during the last Ice Age, Mammoth farts are what caused things to melt down and thaw out…..hmm…..which allowed the human race to be able to flourish and grow on this planet……..someone should do a study or something, because I don’t know if I like where this train of thought is headed.

      Report Post » TXPilot  
  • Stoic one
    Posted on January 11, 2012 at 1:59pm

    I would love to grow Bananas in my yard, here in Greater Cincinnati, all year long outdoors.

    Report Post » Stoic one  
    • bernbart
      Posted on January 11, 2012 at 2:10pm

      Of course will affect affect the crops.

      Report Post »  
    • TXPilot
      Posted on January 11, 2012 at 2:14pm

      STOIC ONE……Careful there Stoic, I mentioned the word banana in one of my other posts, and was accused of being some sort of pervert, by one of the squeaky cheeks that troll on this site. I wouldn’t want a fine, upstanding citizen like you, to be degraded….lol!……but, if you do indeed accomplish the raising of bananas there in Ohio, let me know, because I always prefer to buy American, and I would like to have one to threaten people with….well, at least some of the more hysterical types that would find such an item dangerous…..

      Report Post » TXPilot  
  • Balthazor
    Posted on January 11, 2012 at 1:52pm

    Only voting for Ron Paul will prevent natural disasters!!!!

    Balthazor  
    • theninthplanet
      Posted on January 11, 2012 at 2:18pm

      And then we’ll expose the EARTHQUAKE MAKING MACHINE!!! And we’ll know it was an INSIDE JOB from those Jews CONTROLLING the FED, the MEDIA, and the WORLD GOVERNMENTS responsible for 9/11 and the OKLAHOMA CITY BOMBING. [/sarcasm]

      Ah, its fun to poke at the crazy nut jobs.

      Report Post » theninthplanet  
    • noczars
      Posted on January 11, 2012 at 5:43pm

      @Balthazore= That is hallarious!!!! The problem is that Ron Paul crazies will use your post as a link and then post this as TRUTH. To RP crazies, RP is the ONLY one that can walk on water.

      Report Post » noczars  
  • Gonzo
    Posted on January 11, 2012 at 1:51pm

    The Earth warms, the Earth cools. It’s been going on for a long time now. We don’t need a conspiracy theory to explain it.

    Report Post » Gonzo  
    • CatB
      Posted on January 11, 2012 at 2:12pm

      No… but those who have promoted and profited from such “snake oil” should be in jail. ALGORE.

      Report Post »  
  • TXPilot
    Posted on January 11, 2012 at 1:42pm

    The only thing we all stand to lose from all the “climate change” lies, is our money and our freedom. Global warming is nothing more than a huge con, designed to enhance the power of the self-proclaimed intellectual and political elite in this world…..Don’t buy into the lie, because it will eventually cost you everything.

    Report Post » TXPilot  
    • REPUBLICANINCALI
      Posted on January 11, 2012 at 1:51pm

      The reason they are trying to get all us away from things like natural gas, coal and other fossil fuels is, electricity is easier to control and regulate. If you think about it, if all the the government had to do is flip a switch and everything stops………

      Report Post » REPUBLICANINCALI  
    • TXPilot
      Posted on January 11, 2012 at 1:58pm

      @REPUBLICANCALI……Exactly…..Some people in this world evidently don’t get enough satisfaction in life from minding their own business, so they feel compelled to try to mind all of ours as well. Anything that will promote that desire is something they will promote, and global warming is simply one of the most recent ideas to accomplish their goals.

      Report Post » TXPilot  
    • mbriz
      Posted on January 11, 2012 at 2:37pm

      if you could stick your heads a little further up your butts, I can still hear you.

      You’ll believe in the sky people, but not science. Good, obedient, righty puppets.

      Report Post » mbriz  
    • TXPilot
      Posted on January 11, 2012 at 3:12pm

      @MBRIZ….and having said his piece, MBRIZ gathered up his considerable self-righteousness and walked out of the room, with only a curious squeaking sound occurring in his wake…..All Hail the “Sky People”!!!……
      We do in fact, believe in science…. real science, proved through the accepted methods of research and analysis, just not the fake, Al Gore type science, where if you don’t get the results you were hoping for, make up a good lie, then repeat it as many times as it takes for it to become pseudo-factual…..have a nice day…

      Report Post » TXPilot  

Sign In To Post Comments! Sign In

Sign Up For Our Newsletter!

Glenn Beck Radio

Listen to Glenn Beck 24/7 Listen Now
Restoring Love