Karen Clark & Co estimates insured losses from Haiti earthquake to be $250m

Catastrophe risk modeller  Karen Clark & Company (KCC) estimates the insured losses from Saturday’s (Aug 14) 7.2-magnitude earthquake in Haiti to be about $250million.

The KCC Caribbean Earthquake Reference Model also estimates the insurable losses from the natural disaster to be around $1.7 billion.

A KCC report says the impact is “expected to be significant” but not as devastating as the 7.0-magnitude earthquake which hit the country in 2010 and directly impacted the capital Port-au-Prince.

The report adds: “Numerous hotels and churches on the southwestern coast were destroyed, including in Les Cayes, a major seaport. To the northwest, the roof of a cathedral and many other buildings collapsed in Jeremie, a coastal commune which sustained extensive damage.

“Some shaking was felt in the capital of Port-au-Prince, but no significant damage has been reported there.”

Did you get value from this story?  Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories like this sent straight to your inbox.