Natural Disasters Deadly, Costly in 2010

2010 was an eventful year for natural disasters.

2010 was a deadly, and costly, year for natural disasters, a new report released today reveals.

More than 295,000 people died and more than $130 billion in damage from natural disasters was reported by the world's largest insurer, Munich Re. Those totals are up from 11,000 deaths and $60 billion in losses in 2009. The average number of fatalities from natural disasters over the past 30 years is 66,000, with average losses around $95 billion. [Related: The Biggest Natural Disasters of 2010 ]

About 75 percent of the death toll was from the massive earthquake in Haiti, a magnitude-7.0 temblor that struck on Jan. 12, killing 222,570 people. Overall losses from this quake were $8 billion, a low figure because many in Haiti were uninsured.

The earthquake in Chile on Feb. 27, a magnitude-8.8, and the following tsunami killed 520. This earthquake was 2010's most expensive, with overall losses of $30 billion.

The heatwaves and forest fires in Russia, from July to September, killed some 56,000, the deadliest disaster in Russia's history.

Other disasters with high death tolls included the magnitude-6.9 earthquake in central China on April 13 that killed 2,700 and flooding in Pakistan from July to September, which killed 1,760 and had losses totaling $9.5 billion.

This article was provided by OurAmazingPlanet. Reach staff writer Brett Israel at bisrael@techmedianetwork.com. Follow him on Twitter @btisrael.

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Brett Israel was a staff writer for Live Science with a focus on environmental issues. He holds a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology from The University of Georgia, a master’s degree in journalism from New York University, and has studied doctorate-level biochemistry at Emory University.