AIR Worldwide said that a recent storm that struck Japan, combined with a substantial typhoon earlier this summer, could leave behind costly damages.
The catastrophe modeling firm noted that typhoon Halong, which downgraded to a tropical storm before hitting Shikoku Island and Honshu in Japan on Aug. 10, dropped more than 17 inches of rain in some spots and triggered the evacuation of more than 500,000 people. That storm, combined with Typhoon Neoguri, which hit in mid-July, caused flood damage to more than 2,000 homes across Japan, AIR Worldwide said.
While Halong’s final damages are still being assessed, AIR Worldwide points out the storm, along with Neoguri, left behind damages similar to those caused by Typhoon Roke in 2011. That storm also produced significant flooding, damaged more than 3,000 homes and caused $1.1 billion in insured losses, mostly due to Roke related floods, AIR Worldwide said.
AIR Worldwide also noted that Halong has disrupted travel connected to Japan’s annual Buddhist holiday of Obon, which led to the cancellation of hundreds of flights. Japan also faced disruption of bullet train service along with flooded roads as a result of the storm.
AIR Worldwide is part of the Verisk Insurance Solutions division at Verisk Analytics.