Munich Re has said up to the end of June,natural disasters produced overall losses of around $68bn,a slightly lower figure than the 30-year average (US$ 74bn after adjustment for inflation).

Insured losses, at around US$ 27bn, were higher than usual (US$ 20bn) due to the large proportion of weather disaster losses in North America.

North America accounted for 47% of overall losses and for 82% of insured losses, significantly more than the respective long-term averages (35% and 60%). In contrast, natural disasters in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region produced lower losses.

But climate change is bringing a new normal of extremes and flood-risk policies decided a decade or two ago are no longer sufficient, said Benjamin Horton, director at the Earth Observatory of Singapore.

“What really needs to happen is to work with the ecosystems,not against them by building dams,by extending flood wetlands and flood plains and allowing the water to naturally mix with the environment,”he said.

Separately, the CBIRC urged insurers to properly perform investigations and claims settlement and arrange financial resources in advance to help flood-hit companies and people resume production and normal lives in a timely manner.Large parts of China were reeling on Friday from the worst floods in decades, which destroyed homes and affected millions of people.