Natural disasters killed some 295,000 people around the world last year, "an exceptionally high number of fatalities," according to one of the world's largest insurers.

Munich Re said in a report today, "The high number of weather-related natural catastrophes and record temperatures both globally and in different regions of the world provide further indications of advancing climate change."

This assessment is confirmed by the World Meteorological Organization, which said in December that "2010 is almost certain to rank in the top three warmest years since the beginning of instrumental climate records in 1850."

A total of 950 natural disasters were recorded last year, nine-tenths of them weather-related events such as storms and floods. This made 2010 the year with the second-highest number of natural catastrophes in the past 30 years, the company said.

"2010 showed the major risks we have to cope with. There were a number of severe earthquakes. The hurricane season was also eventful - it was just fortunate that the tracks of most of the storms remained over the open sea. But things could have turned out very differently," said Torsten Jeworrek, Munich Re's Reinsurance CEO.

The overall picture last year was dominated by severe earthquakes to an extent seldom experienced in recent decades, the company reported.

"The severe earthquakes and the hurricane season with so many storms demonstrate once again that there must be no slackening of our efforts to analyze these risks in detail and provide the necessary insurance covers at adequate prices," Jeworrek said. "These prices calculated by the insurance industry make it possible to assess the economic consequences of these otherwise difficult-to-evaluate risks."

The overall losses last year amounted to around US$130 billion, of which approximately US$37 billion was insured. This puts 2010 among the six most loss-intensive years for the insurance industry since 1980, said Jeworrek.

The level of overall losses was slightly above the high average of the past 10 years.

Most catastrophes occurred on the American continent, which recorded 365, and in Asia, which counted 310. Just 120 natural catastrophes were recorded in Europe, 90 in Africa and 65 in Australia/Oceania. North and South America accounted for the largest portion of insured losses, around two-thirds.

Munich Re assigned five of the 2010 catastrophes to the top category of "great natural catastrophes" based on the definition criteria of the United Nations - the earthquake in Haiti on January 12, the earthquake in Chile on February 27, and the earthquake in central China on April 13, the heatwave in Russia, which lasted from July to September, and the floods in Pakistan which also continued from July to September.