Most Expensive Natural Disasters in the World

For as much beauty as Mother Nature provides, she sure can be a mean old woman from time to time. From 1980-2010 there were hundreds of natural disasters throughout the world, culminating in over $500 billion worth of damage and the deaths of thousands of people. Some of these disasters will haunt locals for the rest of their lives. So, if you want knowledge about the worst of them, take a loot at this article of Insidermonkey on the most expensive natural disasters in the world.

Throughout Earth’s history, most natural disasters have been weather-related or resulted from eruptions or shifting plates beneath the planet’s crust. Man-made disasters have also entered the fray in the form of wars, oil spills and nuclear meltdowns. In recent years we have battled hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, wildfires and tsunamis. They have killed millions of people and permanently damaged property and the environment. The huge cost is borne by all of us in the form of higher insurance premiums, taxes and more debt. Here are a few of the most expensive disasters of various types that occurred over the past decades.

Luckily, awareness on environmental issues is constantly growing, but there’s still a lot of work to be done. Just take a look at some of the breathtaking water bodies on our list of The 15 Largest Bodies of Water in the World.