Flooding and severe convective storm (SCS) activity across the central and southern US between April 6th and 11th caused some notable property damage, with total economic and insured losses potentially in the hundreds of millions of dollars or higher, according to insurance and reinsurance broker Aon.
In 2023, insured losses from natural catastrophe events once again exceeded $100 billion, as SCS activity reached new heights and in the US alone, drove insured losses of more than $50 billion.
So far in 2024, SCS activity in the US has persisted, and the latest weekly catastrophe report from broking group Aon discusses the impacts of two slow-moving weather systems which brought significant impacts to parts of the US over April 6th-11th.
The April 6th-7th event brought widespread wind gusts exceeding 75 mph mainly in Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming, with some locations along the Rocky Mountain front range experiencing gusts up to 96 mph, according to Aon.
As well as extreme rainfall and substantial flooding damage, the April 8th-11th event also brought strong winds and tornadoes which ripped roofs off of a number of homes, downed power lines and trees, and caused widespread power outages.
The most extensive damage from the two low-pressure systems was due to extreme rainfall, primarily in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and flooding.
Additionally, hurricane-force wind gusts across Colorado drove 150,000 power outages, widespread downed trees, and notable property damage mainly within the Denver metro area.
“While the latest weather system is still moving through the eastern U.S., the remarkable damage already seen across the central and southern U.S. may drive economic and insured losses into the hundreds of millions USD. This loss estimate may increase further as loss adjustments and many damage assessments are still pending,” says Aon.