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Aon expects July Japan earthquake losses below 2016 Kumamoto level
The broker estimates the 6.8 quake in Kyushu caused 35 fatalities and disrupted services, including outages for nearly 50,000 households and water for more than 100,000 customers.
Aon expects losses from the July 28 earthquake that hit Kumamoto Prefecture and Japan's Kyushu island to be lower than the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes, according to its Weekly Cat Report, after initially assessing the new event as less severe for claims than the prior disaster.
Reinsurance News reports Aon is comparing its outlook with the earlier quake, which caused $53.0 billion in economic losses and $7.7 billion in insured losses. In the latest event, Aon said the quake resulted in at least 35 deaths and hundreds of injuries, with significant property and infrastructure damage across multiple prefectures.
The outlet notes that, as summarized by the US Geological Survey, the M 6.8 earthquake south of Kumamoto occurred due to shallow strike-slip faulting. In some areas, intensity reached level 7 on Japan's JMA scale, and rail services were suspended in parts of the JR Kyushu network and on some Shinkansen operations pending safety inspections.
According to Reinsurance News, nearly 50,000 households in Kumamoto Prefecture experienced power outages shortly after the earthquake, and more than 100,000 customers remained without water two days later. Authorities had not fully quantified property damage as of July 30, but reports pointed to widespread damage to residential and commercial buildings and industrial facilities, with severe summer heat compounding humanitarian impacts.