European windstorm Emma causes up to EUR1.3 billion in insured damages

Initial estimates are placing insured damage caused by Windstorm Emma which tore through parts of central Europe on Mar. 1 at between EUR300 million (Cdn$455.24 million) and EUR1.3 billion (Cdn$1.973 billion). Windstorm Emma brought with it heavy rain and hurricane-force winds, which caused significant damage to residential buildings, AIR Worldwide Corporation reports. Wind gusts were recorded between 130km/h and 155 km/h. Highway, rail and air traffic was disrupted, flood alerts were issued in the Netherlands, and thousands of people were without power. AIR notes that 15 people were reported dead. AIR estimates insured onshore wind losses will be between EUR750 million (Cdn$1.1 billion) and EUR1.3 billion (Cdn$1.973 billion), not including the Czech Republic and the Baltic States. Risk Management Solutions (RMS), estimates total losses at between EUR300 million and EUR700 million, including losses to residential, commercial and industrial properties according to a release. Much of the residential damage was to roofs and damage due to fallen trees and debris. “Emma was not as large as last season’s most severe event Windstorm Kyrill, which produced damaging winds in more than ten countries across Europe and resulted in the largest damage footprint in decades,” Dr. Peter Dailey, director of atmospheric science at AIR Worldwide, said. “Though Kyrill’s footprint was larger than Emma’s, Emma packed higher sustained winds in some locations. Additionally, Emma’s cold front brought severe thunderstorm activity to southern Germany, which resulted in locally intense winds. As a result, localized damage to individual properties from Emma was generally higher than that from Kyrill, though less widespread.”