Global natural disasters have cost the world at least $117 billion in economic losses and $58 billion in insured losses in the first half of 2024, according to a new report by Aon, a professional services firm in the area of risk management, insurance and reinsurance.
Though the economic loss was lower than the losses in the first half of 2023, the report predicts a costly hurricane season and continued convective storm activity for the second half of the year.
Convective storms range from thunderstorms with lightning to tornadoes, hail or destructive winds.
The report pointed to Hurricane Beryl as one example of what the global economy is up against in the second half of the year. Economic research firms estimated that the hurricane could cost the state of Texas upward of $4.6 billion in economic losses. AccuWeather estimated the nationwide economic loss to be at least $28 billion.
About half of the economic losses and two-thirds of insured losses in the first half of the year were due to severe convective storms. The second leading cause of loss was flooding.
Amongst the billion-dollar natural disaster events, 22 occurred in the United States, four occurred in Asia, two occurred in South America and two were in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), according to the Aon report.
With severe convective storms costing the U.S. $50 billion, the country carried the bulk of the economic losses seen globally. Following the U.S. was the $17.6 billion Noto earthquake in Japan, $6.3 billion floods in China, $5.4 billion floods in Germany and $2.4 billion floods in Brazil.
“Severe convective storms in the United States generated (the) majority of the global insured losses in the first half of 2024,” the report says. “Natural disasters in the United States accounted for nearly 80 percent of global insured losses.”
The storms included 165 tornadoes in early May, the derecho, or windstorm, in Houston and several violent and destructive twisters. With 801 tornadoes, this year featured the second-most tornado reports on record for April-May, according to reports Aon referenced from the Storm Prediction Center.
The annual increase in global natural disasters is a sign of a dying world that the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, the Eternal Leader of the Nation of Islam, has been warning of since the early 1930s.
Over the past two decades, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, National Representative of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, has warned the world that the conditions brought by natural disasters were foretold in scripture.
“Righteousness, justice and freedom are despised and fought against regardless to the clear knowledge of God’s hourly punishment and destruction of America by His divine plague of storms,” the Honorable Elijah Muhammad wrote in his book, “The Fall of America.”
“But this is as it is written of America in the Book of Revelations, in the Bible … ‘they continue their evil way and did blaspheme the God Who has power over the plagues. They hated the name of Allah, the Great Mahdi … but nevertheless that does not stop the judgment and the destruction of America,” the Honorable Elijah Muhammad continued.
His student, Minister Farrakhan, has continued the warnings and insights taught by his Teacher. “Those who are scripturally prepared know that it is prophesied that we would be living at a time of wars and rumors of wars, pestilence, famine and earthquakes in diverse places.
We are witnessing terrifying disasters afflicting the people of the world, and these disasters are now afflicting the United States of America,” Minister Farrakhan said during a press conference in Havana, Cuba, on March 27, 2006.
He led a delegation that visited Cuba to study disaster preparedness management and the infrastructure of Cuba’s social services.
A few years later, he visited Haiti after the devastating 2010 earthquake, where he delivered another message.
“We have been viewing hurricanes and tornadoes, floods and fire, hail and frigid cold that if you breathe it into your lungs, it will freeze your lungs and kill you. Europe is suffering under that condition as we speak. There have been major earthquakes in Pakistan, China and other parts of the Far East.
Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions in the South Pacific caused a tsunami that killed tens of thousands of people and destroyed the lives of hundreds of thousands in terms of destruction of their homes, their property,” Minister Farrakhan said, in the message, “A National Mobilization for Haitian Relief,” originally published in The Final Call, Vol. 29 No. 16.
“Flooding in Bangladesh, flooding in the Philippines, flooding in other parts of the world and natural disasters have struck across the planet,” he continued. “It is not that such conditions were not foretold by the Prophets of the Bible and Holy Qur’an,” the Minister said. “We are witnessing the fulfillment of what has been prophesied, but Jesus said this is just the beginning of sorrows. The worst is yet to come.”
Though Minister Farrakhan consistently acknowledges the global disasters occurring, he has shared that America has received more calamities than any other nation on the Earth.
“I’ve been telling you, watch the weather. Every day the weather is getting worse and worse. The White meteorologists cannot tell you what the weather’s going to be; but my teacher told me. Who’s your teacher, Farrakhan? My teacher is the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad.
Without him and the Great Mahdi, I wouldn’t be here, but he told me there are two of us backing you up: Allah and myself,” Minister Farrakhan said in a message titled, “The Man Jesus and How Not To Fall Into Idolatry,” delivered on July 21, 2019, in Chicago.
“If the scientists could cause this to stop, they would have done it. The scientists have a point, but the scientists don’t create rain, hail, snow and earthquakes. Some of these chastisements are being guided. Did you hear what I said?
Who has power to guide a storm and it destroys what the guide says? The Mahdi is not just a guide for human beings. He’s a guide for the forces of nature itself,” he continued.
“So, America is surrounded with the Judgment of God. Climate control is very important in the context of war, but there’s no space on this earth that has received as much calamity from weather as the United States of America.”
Minister Farrakhan went on to describe the melting glaciers, heavy rain that causes flooding and powerful earthquakes. He warned America that she has angered God, and to stop severe weather, she must do right by the people of God, Black people of America.
“If you sat down sincerely with a desire to do something to ease this problem for Black people, I can guarantee you the harshness of the weather will change,” Minister Farrakhan said.
“After I leave this rostrum, I want you to watch the weather, because it’s going to increase in severity just to help the president humble himself before God. And you, my Black brothers and sisters, you have to stand up where you are and begin to make yourselves better people.”
Final Call staff contributed to this report.
