The extensive outbreak of severe storms that hit the central and eastern parts of the U.S. from May 16th – May 23rd, is expected to result in economic losses of at least $1 billion, according to analysis from Impact Forecasting, the catastrophe risk modelling arm of insurance and reinsurance broker Aon.
The outbreak claimed the lives of at least seven people and injured more than 100 others, and was marked by no fewer than 100 confirmed tornadoes, hail up to 5.5 inches in diameter, straight-line winds of up to 100mph and excess rainfall resulting in flash flooding.
Parts of Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas were some of the hardest hit areas, with severe damage also occurring in Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York.
The firm’s latest weekly catastrophe recap report notes that total economic losses from the multi-day stretch of serve weather were expected to exceed the $1 billion mark, with insurance protection anticipated to cover much of the hail and wind-related damage.
According to the report, the month of May is typically one of the busiest months for U.S tornado activity.
Aon announced recently that insurers and reinsurers are likely to payout more than $1 billion for natural catastrophe events in the month of April, which was another very active month for tornado activity in the U.S.
