CoreLogic revises Taiwan quake loss estimate to $1bn down from $8bn
CoreLogic has updated its estimates for insurable losses resulting from the 7.5 magnitude earthquake that struck Taiwan's east coast on April 3. The revised estimate now ranges between $0.5 billion and $1.0 billion.
Initially, the insured losses were projected in the range of $5 billion and $8 billion. The latest assessment reflects a significant adjustment to the figures.
The updated estimate encompasses ground up damage, excluding the impact of policy deductibles and limits, but does not exclude losses ceded to the Taiwan Residential Earthquake Insurance Fund.
“Hualien County will likely see the most damage from the Mw 7.4 earthquake,” Jon Schneyer, CoreLogic director of catastrophe response, said.
“Fortunately, Taipei’s strong building codes for modern buildings mitigated major damages,” he added.
A series of earthquakes struck the eastern coast of Taiwan early morning local time April 3 at a magnitude placed variously at 7.2, 7.4 and 7.5 by agencies in Taiwan, the US and Japan respectively. Four major quakes came within a two-hour period, followed by a long series of minor aftershocks.
The epicentre was just 18 km south of the nearest city of Hualien, population ca. 100,000, the largest city in the Hualien province, population 319,000. The epicentre is located some 135 km due south of the capital Taipei.
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