Over the past month, Asia has been hit by two Nat CAT events, namely typhoon Dolphin in China, the Philippines and Taiwan, and Japan's 5.9-magnitude earthquake.
Guy Carpenter’s report, titled ‘Active early August global cat activity’, called typhoon Dolphin “the fourth and strongest typhoon to strike China this year”, and noted that heavy rainfall caused agricultural damages in China, the Philippines and Taiwan.
The report also stated that typhoon Dolphin “became the fifth category five tropical cyclone of 2026, putting this year ahead of the pace from the all-time record of 12 category five events in 1997 (also a strong El Niño year)”.
It also warned that “above average activity looks to persist on account of the strong El Niño along with above average sea surface temperatures across most of the region”.
Japan’s Ibaraki Prefecture was also rocked by a 5.9-magnitude quake that struck in the early hours of 23 August, and injured more than 10 people in the Kanto region, according to news platform NHK WORLD-JAPAN.
Damages were reported by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and Tokyo Fire Department in the wake of the event.
The Prime Minister of Japan, Takaichi Sanae, has also noted that efforts to confirm the extent of the damage are ongoing, an article on The Japan Times stated.
Guy Carpenter’s full report can be accessed here.