Hurricane Gonzalo and cyclone Hudhud losses each up to $400m: AIR

Hurricane Gonzalo made landfall on the south-central coast of Bermuda on Friday. When the eye of the hurricane came on shore the storm was a category 3 hurricane with 115 mph winds. However, by the time its centre passed overhead, Gonzalo had weakened to a Category 2 hurricane, with 110 mph sustained winds, said AIR. According to AIR, Bermuda's strictly enforced building codes provide building design criteria to withstand sustained wind speeds of up to 110 mph and gusts of up to 150 mph. It said that most of the newer and well-maintained buildings that meet Bermuda's codes stood up well to Gonzalo's winds, with only minor damage to roof areas that were directly exposed to the oncoming storm.hide"Gonzalo's track may have also mitigated the damage in Bermuda. Building damage from winds is due to both wind speed and duration. Thus, the damage caused by Gonzalo was not as bad as it potentially could have been because Gonzalo's eye (the calm of the storm) enveloped the entire territory as it passed directly overhead, thereby reducing the amount of time buildings were exposed to heavy winds," said the modelling agency. AIR conducted a damage survey across Bermuda on 19-20 October. In the areas surveyed, damage was mostly limited to roofs, but structural damage was seen on older buildings. Most resorts on the island withstood the storm well, sustaining only minor roof damage to one or two units that were more directly exposed to high winds. Its loss range estimate for the very severe Cyclone Hudhud that hit the east coast of India earlier this month reflects uncertainty in the meteorological parameters associated with the event. "A crucial component of providing an accurate insured loss estimate is ascertaining the storm's exact strength at landfall. However, this is a challenging task, because as is typical, there are discrepancies in the storm's reported intensity from various agencies due to satellite-based algorithms, parameter estimation and averaging times," said AIR. For its insured loss estimate there is additional uncertainty because of difficulties in obtaining reliable insurance take-up, or penetration, rates. AIR's insured loss estimates assumes insurance penetration of 3% for residential lines, 20% for commercial and 30% for industrial. Hudhud made landfall on 12 October near the city of Vizag on the east coast of India with maximum sustained winds of 87 knots, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Hudhud weakened to a depression after landfall and moved to the north-northwest over south Chhattisgarh. In the immediate aftermath of the storm, transportation in and out of Vizag was cut off due to blocked roads and restricted rail traffic. However, rail and bus services have since been restored. Vizag's power grid also suffered major damage as hundreds of electric poles were uprooted due to gusty winds. "The majority of the insured damage caused by Hudhud is concentrated in Vizag-the largest city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and the third largest city on the east coast of India with a population of 2 million," said Dr Praveen Sandri, Managing Director and Senior Vice President at AIR Worldwide India. "Many of the commercial buildings in Asilmetta, Sampath Vinayaka Temple Road, Maddilapalem and Muralinagar in Vizag, and a reported 48,000 residential homes in Odisha's southern districts were badly damaged," he added.

Hurricane Gonzalo and cyclone Hudhud losses each up to $400m: AIR

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