Public and private insurers forked over nearly $3 billion to cover claims related to severe weather outbreaks in the U.S. for May. Overall aggregated economic losses: more than $4 billion, Aon Benfield’s Impact Forecasting said in a new report.

The loss payouts stem from a number of severe weather outbreaks that hit the central and eastern United States in May, with damage resulting from large hail, major winds, tornadoes and some flash flooding. Major thunderstorms with damaging winds and large hail were reported in the Plains, Midwest, Southeast and Mid-Atlantic.

The metro-Denver region saw the biggest event during the month – softball-sized hail that led to more than $1.4 billion in insured losses in Colorado alone.

May severe weather struck a number of other locations around the world.

A combined southwest monsoon and developing tropical cyclone created major rainfall in Sri Lanka that killed 213 people and left 77 others missing and likely dead. More than 150 people suffered injuries, with flooding and landslides hitting the majority of the country leaving more than 22,000 homes damaged or destroyed. The economic losses for this storm nearly hit $200 million.

Major flooding in Ontario, Quebec and the Canadian Maritimes, and a separate event in British Columbia, killed four people and damaged more than 5,200 homes. Brazil, Kenya, Tanzania and Indonesia also were slammed with major flood events.

Other major global weather events in May:

• Cyclone Mora killed at least 9 people, damaged 50,000 homes and other structures and caused more than $100 million in aggregated losses.
• More than $100 million in combined economic losses were the result of major thunderstorms, hail and wind damage that hit parts of Canada, Russia, China and Bangladesh.
• Significant rain-related flooding in Ontario, Quebec, the Canadian Maritimes and British Columbia killed at least 4 people and damaged more than 5,200 homes.
• Parts of China are dealing with more than $122 million in agricultural losses stemming from worsening drought. South Africa is also facing an ongoing drought whose costs exceeded $100 million as of May.

More details are in Impact Forecasting’s monthly Global Catastrophe Recap report.

Sources: Impact Forecasting/Aon Benfield