Insured Property Losses from Australia’s Townsville Floods in 2019 Hit A$1.24B: PERILS

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PERILS, the independent Zurich-based organization that provides industry-wide catastrophe insurance data, has disclosed its fourth and final property loss estimate for the flood event which hit northern Queensland, Australia, and in particular the city of Townsville, between Jan. 26 and Feb. 10, 2019.

The final estimate of the property insurance market loss is A$1.243 billion (US$831.3 million), which is up from the third loss estimate of A$1.217 billion (US$813.9 million), which was issued by PERILS on Aug. 10, 2019, six months after the event.

In line with PERILS’ event definition, the PERILS loss number covers the property line of business only.

The Townsville floods were the result of a slow-moving monsoon system which brought exceptional rainfall to northern Queensland in late January and early February 2019. The resulting surface and river flooding caused devastation over large areas of rural northern Queensland, in particular affecting the farming industry and road infrastructure. Major insurance losses occurred in the city of Townsville, where flooding by the Ross and Bohle rivers resulted in severe damage to homes, businesses and public infrastructure. The resulting impact on the insurance industry represents the highest flood loss figure since the Brisbane Floods in 2011.

The fourth and final report provides a detailed market loss footprint which is based on collected loss data from affected insurers. The event loss information is broken down by postcode and by property lines of business. It is complemented with postcode level rain and flood metrics provided by JBA Risk Management and Risk Frontiers.

As a result of the event, two people were confirmed drowned in the flood waters, one person reported missing was never found and two people died from Melioidosis, a bacterial infection caused by a soil-borne bacterium stirred up by floodwaters.

Source: PERILS

Photograph: In this Sunday, Feb. 3, 2019, photo, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services crew members use an inflatable boat to pull residents through floodwaters at Hermit Park in Townsville, Australia. Photo credit:: Andrew Rankin/AAP Image.