Canada's 10 Worst Natural Disasters Totaled C$30 Billion In Annual Insured Losses

TORONTO (Reuters) - Insured losses have surged in the past decade as climate change in Canada sparks wildfires, intense hailstorms and thunderstorms with severe flooding in major cities.

Insured losses from natural disasters averaged C$2.2 billion ($1.63 billion) a year over the last decade, far exceeding the previous decade's average of C$632 million, according to the IBC, which expects escalating losses to continue.

The wildfire in Canadian tourist destination Jasper this year surpassed C$880 million in insured damages, according to initial estimates, IBC said last week.

Here is a list of 10 of the worst annual losses recorded in Canada due to weather events.

Year Total insured Major weather events Impacted regions

loss

2016 C$5.96 billion Wildfire Fort McMurray,

Alberta

2013 $3.87 billion Floods, ice storm Alberta; Toronto,

Ontario

2022 C$3.4 billion Multiple events Multiple locations

2023 C$3.13 billion Wildfires on the Okanagan and

west coast, floods Shuswap, B.C.;

on the east coast Nova Scotia

1998 C$2.83 billion Ice storm Quebec

2021 C$2.48 billion Hailstorm and floods Calgary, Alberta;

British Columbia

2020 C$2.46 billion Flood and hailstorm Fort McMurray and

Calgary, Alberta

2018 C$2.40 billion Multiple events Ontario and Quebec

including rainstorms

and windstorms

2011 C$1.97 billion Fire and windstorm Slave Lake,

Alberta

2012 C$1.65 billion Rainstorm Calgary

Source: Insurance Bureau of Canada, CatIQ

(This story has been refiled to add 'insured' to the headline and to the table to clarify that losses are insured and not economic losses)

(Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Toronto; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)