The historic flood that engulfed parts of the Capital Region and other south Louisiana communities last month is projected to cost the U.S. economy between $10 billion and $15 billion, according to the latest monthly Global Catastrophe Recap report by London-based reinsurance firm and capital advisor Aon Benfield.
The report evaluates the impact of natural disasters occurring worldwide in August, including the 6.2-magnitude earthquake that struck central Italy, killing 296 people.
“August was an active month for global natural disasters, led by two major catastrophes: historic flooding in Louisiana and a major earthquake in central Italy,” says Steve Bowen, meteorologist and director of Aon Benfield’s Impact Forecasting team, in a statement. “While both these events were multibillion dollar disasters, unfortunately, the vast majority of the losses are likely to be uninsured, further exposing the reality that certain perils remain vastly underinsured regardless of region. Indeed, as we enter the final third of 2016, roughly 75 percent of the year’s disaster losses have been uninsured.”
Aon Benfield’s economic loss projection for the Louisiana flood is largely due to the “regionally low participation in the National Flood Insurance Program, which resulted in more than 80% of damaged homes not having flood insurance.”
Public and private insured portions of the projected loss are expected to be in the low-digit single billions, the report says.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has authorized more than $200 million in individual assistance payout to Louisiana flood victims. Gov. John Bel Edwards arrived in Washington, D.C. on Thursday to request $2 billion in federal aid for Louisiana. In a letter Edwards sent to President Barack Obama a week ago, the governor says initial estimates peg the total losses from the disaster at more than $8.7 billion, not including public infrastructure.
The Obama administration on Thursday authorized the federal government to cover 90% of the costs of flood-related damage to public infrastructure in Louisiana.
—Alexandria Burris
