Haiyan is most powerful storm on record
Typhoon Haiyan, the deadly typhoon that wreaked havoc in the Philippines, tops the list of the most powerful typhoons ever recorded but, despite the deviation, is unlikely to be among the top ten deadliest storms, according to a note by Swiss Re.
The Swiss reinsurance company, which through the Swiss Re Foundation is donating Sfr250,000 to help those affected by the devastating typhoon, said the estimated winds close to land are believed to have reached an extraordinary 170 knots. The strongest typhoon previously recorded was Typhoon Joan in 1970, which reached speeds of 140 knots.
“The wind speeds of Haiyan were extraordinary. It is hard to build structures that can withstand such high wind speeds,” Swiss Re said in a statement.
The reinsurer said that while it is too early to give any kind of loss estimates for the region, it is clear the human losses appear to be very significant and the country now faces a humanitarian crisis.
Estimates around the number of fatalities are sketchy but the most recent news reports suggest as many as 2,500 people could have been killed. To put this in historical context, the tenth most deadly storm recorded between 1970 and 2012 was Typhoon Linda which killed 3,840 people in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand in 1997. The most deadly storm ever was Cyclone Bhola, which killed some 300,000 people in Bangladesh in 1970.
Swiss Re said although the devastation is vast, it would have been must worse if Haiyan had hit more nsely populated areas such as Manila, which is one of the most exposed urban areas in Asia and the world in terms of exposure to natural catastrophe risks.
