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Costliest disasters of 2011 This year has been an unprecedented one for natural disasters. By the end of June, economic losses totaled $265 billion, according to German reinsurer Munich Re. That easily exceeds the total figure for 2005, which was previously the costliest year.
Jan. 10, 2011
Flooding in Australia in January of 2011 led to $7.3 billion in losses. In February, the country was hit by its biggest cyclone in history. This image shows floodwaters swamping a shopping center as flash floods inundate the city of Toowoomba.
Nicole Alayne Hammermeister
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AFP/Getty Images
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Jan. 5, 2011
Hundreds of Australians scrambled to build levee banks and evacuate hospital patients as floods rolled in. Here, a vehicle drives down the flooded runway at Rockhampton Airport after the swollen Fitzroy River broke its banks and inundated much of the city.
Torsten Blackwood
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AFP/Getty Images
Jan. 16, 2011
Volunteers help clean out the inside of a flood-affected home in Rockhampton, Australia. The city experienced some of Queensland's worst floods this year when the Fitzroy River peaked at more than 30 feet.
Ian Hitchcock
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Getty Images
An earthquake in New Zealand in February led to 181 deaths and $20 billion in losses, the No. 2 costliest natural disaster in the first half of 2011. Pictured here is the rubble of a shop in Christchurch, New Zealand. The 6.3-magnitude tremor collapsed buildings but left the city's rugby stadium with only minor damage.
Mark Baker
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AP
Feb. 24, 2011
Part of a road between Lyttelton and Sumner, New Zealand, was damaged by February’s earthquake on the outskirts of Christchurch, New Zealand.
Mark Baker
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AP
Huge boulders rest where they landed after the quake in Christchurch suburb of Sumner, New Zealand.
Dave Wethey
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AP
March 11, 2011
The 9.0-magnitude earthquake in Japan and subsequent tsunami is the costliest natural disaster on record, causing economic losses of $125 billion. This photo shows the massive tsunami as it sweeps in to engulf a residential area in northeastern Japan.
Kyodo
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Reuters
Houses are partially underwater following a tsunami and earthquake in Natori City, Japan. After the quake, there were several strong aftershocks.
Kyodo
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Reuters
People wait for rescue on a rooftop following an earthquake and tsunami in the Iwate Prefecture in Japan.
Kyodo
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Reuters
March 19, 2011
Volunteers pitch in alongside rescue workers clearing the debris to search for more bodies in Rikuzentakata, Japan.
Paula Bronstein
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Getty Images
Tornadoes that ripped across the southeastern United States in April and May contributed $7.5 billion in losses. These were the deadliest cluster of tornadoes in a half century. In total, severe weather led to $23.5 billion in losses. This photo shows the debris of a brick garage and home in Pratt City, Ala. Alabama, the hardest-hit of six states, had nearly 300 deaths as a result of the storms.
Kevin C. Cox
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Getty Images
An aerial view of Oak Grove, Ala., a town on the outskirts of Birmingham, is seen after the worst U.S. tornadoes and storms in decades.
Nicholas Kamm
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AFP/Getty Images
April 28, 2011
Kelly Giddens helps University of Alabama law student Daniel Hinton remove belongings from his destroyed home in the Cedar Crest neighborhood in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Jessica McGowan
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Getty Images
May 18, 2011
Heavy snow melt and over 20 inches of rain in a month led to the worst flooding of the lower Mississippi River since 1927 in April and May of this year. There was extensive damage to agriculture, property and inland marine life. Economic losses totaled about $2 billion. In this photo, a levee protects a home surrounded by floodwater from the Yazoo River in Mississippi. The flooded Mississippi River forced the Yazoo to top its banks where the two meet near Vicksburg, Miss.
Scott Olson
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Getty Images
May 11, 2011
City workers transport a load of sandbags to be used in re-enforcing a levee gate past the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad Station in Vicksburg, Miss.
Scott Olson
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Getty Images
May 15, 2011
The Morganza Spillway, in Baton Rouge, is seen from space by NASA's Earth Observing satellite. The Morganza Spillway floodgates were opened for the first time in nearly 40 years to lower the crest of the flooding Mississippi River.
NASA Earth Observatory
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Via Getty Images
June 26, 2011
Heavy rains in the northern plains states and the melting of a heavy snowpack in the Rockies in June flooded the Missouri and the Souris rivers, leading to levee breaches and the evacuation of residents. Here, a water slide is surrounded by floodwater as the Souris River crests in Minot, N.D.
Scott Olson
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Getty Images
June 26, 2011
Floodwater rushes across a street in Burlington, N.D.
Scott Olson
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Getty Images
June 27, 2011
FEMA representative Pat Scott assists a couple as they seek help after their North Dakota home suffered flood damage.
Scott Olson
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Getty Images
May 4, 2011
Sally Nance walks through floodwater as she helps her neighbors remove clothes from their home home in Tiptonville, Tenn.
Scott Olson
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Getty Images
April 19, 2011
More than 3 million acres burned in west Texas from April to June of this year. Wildfires in Arizona and New Mexico also destroyed buildings and wooded areas. Here, Greg Sullivan opens a gate to allow livestock to escape a wildfire in Graford, Tex.
Tom Pennington
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Getty Images
April 19, 2011
A running wildfire threatens a home in Strawn, Tex. The wildfires were fueled by dry conditions, high winds and low humidity.
Tom Pennington
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Getty Images
June 10, 2011
A firefighter walks away after setting a backburn on Highway 190 in an attempt to control a raging wildfire in Nutrioso, Ariz.
Kevork Djansezian
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Getty Images
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Section:/business/economy
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