The lion’s share was attributed to extreme rainstorms in Henan province last July, which saw some US$19 billion of economic losses, where US$2.3 billion was covered, said the research unit of Swiss Re, one of the world’s biggest reinsurers, The South China Morning Post reported.

Only Europe suffered more, recording over US$41.8 billion of flood-related losses when extreme rainstorms hit Germany and neighbouring nations in July, data from the Zurich-based firm’s latest research report on natural catastrophes showed. Some 32.5 percent of the losses were covered, the newspaper reported.

“It is clear today that climate change will be the fundamental economic challenge of our time,” John Zhu, the institute’s chief economist for Asia. “With climate change set to inflict heavy economic costs, infrastructure investments including flood defences can pay off substantially over the long run.”