Perils ups loss estimate for September Central European floods to 2.19 billion euros

By Ryan Hewlett

March 20 - (The Insurer) - Loss aggregator Perils has disclosed an industry loss estimate of 2.19 billion euros ($2.38 billion) for September’s floods in Central Europe and Italy.

Perils’ third estimate for the event compares to the previous figures of 2.08 billion euros and 1.89 billion euros issued in December and October, respectively.

The majority of the losses occurred in Austria, the Czech Republic and Poland, with Italy and Slovakia also affected.

The flooding took place between September 14 and 20 after low-pressure system Boris, also known as Anett, caused prolonged heavy rainfall over a very wide area of Central Europe.

This resulted in flooding primarily in eastern Austria, the central and eastern Czech Republic and southwestern Poland. The system then moved back towards central Italy, where heavy downpours resulted in flooding in the Emilia-Romagna and Marche regions.

Christoph Oehy, CEO of Perils, said the event marks the biggest flood loss in Europe since the “dramatic” Bernd floods in mid-July 2021.

Oehy said the event contributed to the “heavy international flood loss toll” experienced in 2024, which included the Dubai floods in April, the Rio Grande do Sul floods in Brazil in April and May, the southern Germany floods in June, the floods caused by ex-Hurricane Debby in Canada in August, and the Valencia floods in Spain in October.