Widespread torrential rainfall and flooding in the City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia, has so far resulted in 11,800 insurance claims, amounting to roughly AUD 147 million in losses, according to local media reports citing the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA).
The ICA declared the event a catastrophe earlier this week, after the coastal area received more than a metre of rain, up to 25cm of which had fallen since Sunday morning.
The ICA had said previously that as at 8pm on Saturday, insurers had received about 1900 claims with losses estimated at AUD 16.7 million (USD 12.1 million), stating that this figure was expected to rise.
A recent global catastrophe recap report from global insurance and reinsurance broker Aon discusses the severe flooding in the region, noting that some rivers reached their highest levels on record.
The report states that the ICA had cited more than 6,525 claims with payouts nearing AUD 80 million (USD 57 million), adding that the total economic hit could approach AUD 1 billion (USD 710 million).
Now, the ICA has told local media that it has recorded 11,800 insurance claims amounting to approximately AUD 147 million (USD 104 million). At the same time, the number of properties reported as severely damaged or uninhabitable from the flooding continues to climb.
Furthermore, Australian media is reporting that an estimated 300,000 cattle were killed by the Queensland region flooding, worth approximately AUD 300 million (USD 213 million).
