Eqecat: US tornadoes to cost insurers up to $5bn

Insured property losses from the recent US tornadoes will be between $2bn and $5bn (between £1.3bn and £3.3bn), according to estimates by risk modelling firm Eqecat.

The risk modeller said a strong storm system moving across the central US produced a series of tornado strikes or  ‘touchdowns’ over a three-day period.

The US National Weather Service reported 16 touchdowns on 18 May, 29 touchdowns on 19 May and 31 on 20 May.

Among them were the two tornado hits that struck Oklahoma City on 19 and 20 May, killing 26 and causing major property damage.

Eqecat said the central plains see the greatest tornado activity in the US. At an approximate rate of 7.5 tornadoes per 10,000 square miles per year, Oklahoma has one of the highest densities of tornado activity in the country.

Tornadoes were also reported in Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Texas, Colorado, Arkansas and Indiana over the three-day period.

Eqecat said the series of tornadoes may have damaged “thousands “ of buildings, with 13,000 structures damaged by the tornado in the city of Moore, Oklahoma alone, where the bulk of the losses are expected.