Floods in Europe: insurers expect material damage on an unprecedented scale
On July 17, 2021, in a building in Insul near Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, in western Germany.
AFP - CHRISTOF STACHE
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
The toll of floods in Europe exceeds 160 dead.
Most of the deaths have been recorded in Germany in what is considered the worst natural disaster in that country since the war.
Belgium is also paying a heavy price.
Much damage has also occurred in the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Switzerland.
While it is still too early to determine the total cost of this destruction, insurers expect material damage on an unprecedented scale for a disaster of this type.
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Cars overturned, destroyed houses, torn trees, the images are impressive, but it is impossible for the moment to quantify this destruction.
According to the insurer AXA Belgium, it will be necessary to wait for the water level to drop to discover the extent of the disaster.
Many residents are still in the midst of the debacle and trying to resolve the most urgent.
It is only then that the first observations will come.
Insurers believe that these are floods of unprecedented magnitude.
By comparison, the floods that hit central Europe in 2002 killed more than 100 people and caused € 20 billion in damage.
► To read also:
Floods: in the region of Venlo in the Netherlands, the state of some dikes worries
Natural disasters, which are more and more frequent and linked to climate change, are driving up the bill.
Globally, the economic losses caused by these events reached 160 billion euros in 2020. An increase of 25% compared to 2019, according to the Swiss reinsurance giant Swiss Re.
► See also:
Floods in Germany: policies on the climate front and the next elections
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