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MUNICH
(Reuters) - The world was hit by a record number of natural
disasters in 2000 and global warming and a rising population
are likely to make future years even worse, the world's
largest reinsurer said Thursday.
Munich
Re said the number of what it categorizes as natural disasters
rose by more than 100 to 850 in 2000, although the number
of deaths was much lower than in 1999 because less populated
areas were affected.
It said
10,000 people died as a result of natural disasters in 2000
compared to 75,000 in 1999. Material damage was put atmore
than $30 billion in 2000.
``Accounting
for the growth in world population and the rise in the concentration
of property values, the losses caused by natural disasters
must be expected to continue to rise in the future,'' Munich
Re said.
``Global
warming has to be slowed down. Otherwise the risk situation
for insurers in many of the world's regions will intensify,''
said Gerhard Berz, head of its geo-science research group.
Munich
Re said that since only $7.5 billion of the estimated damage
caused by natural disasters in 2000 had been covered by
insurance, it had actually been a relatively inexpensive
year for policy underwriters.
Storms
were clearly at the top of the list of disasters, accounting
for 73 percent of all insured losses, while floods accounted
for 23 percent of insured losses.
Flooding
which hit Mozambique in February making half a million people
homeless was the year's biggest catastrophe.
A series
of devastating forest fires in the United States was the
other major disaster, causing losses of more than $1 billion
despite the fact that relatively few houses caught fire.
Dry
weather and drought in Europe caused losses of more than
$300 million when a severe heat wave in May and June destroyed
crops in southeast Europe, particularly in Romania.
The
cyclone season in the Pacific and North Atlantic produced
a typical number of hurricanes and typhoons and cyclones,
it said. The countries affected came off relatively lightly.
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