World's Costliest Natural Disasters

Japan's devastating earthquake has pushed natural disasters back into the headlines again, and the Telegraph runs down the most costly in history:

• Earthquake in Sichuan, China, 2008: The 7.8-magnitude temblor killed more than 70,000 and left 11 million homeless. Cost: $147 billion.
• Earthquake in Kobe, Japan, 1995: The city of Kobe alone lost 4,600 of the 6,434 people who died. Cost: $144 billion.

• Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, 2005: The storm devastated the Big Easy, and killed 1,800. Cost: $137 billion.
• Earthquake in Irpinia, Italy, 1980: Almost 3,000 died in the quake that devastated a vast area. Cost: $52 billion.
• Earthquake in California, 1994: The Santa Monica freeway was shut down for three months. Cost: $43 billion.

Click for the rest of the list. (Read more natural disaster stories.)