Usagi hits Japan, causing up to $500M in damage

Typhoon Man-Yi, which hit parts<br>of Japan in early July—grounding<br>flights, causing injuries and<br>knocking out power, was joined<br>last week by Typhoon Usagi, which/ AP/KYODO NEWS

HYUGA, Japan—Catastrophe modelers expect insured losses in the hundreds of millions of dollars or more from the typhoon that struck the southern Japanese island of Kyushu last week.

Typhoon Usagi made landfall on northeastern Kyushu as a Category 2 storm, according to EQECAT Inc. of Oakland, Calif. "As the storm progressed northwards, it made landfall on Honshu, in Yamaguchi Prefecture.... Winds along the southern coastal areas of Shikoku Island approached hurricane force," with sustained winds of about 75 mph, EQECAT said.

EQECAT said that insured losses from the typhoon would likely be in the range of 50 billion yen to 250 billion yen ($420.9 million to $2.10 billion), noting that "the relatively low level of winds across a vast region makes a more precise estimate of losses very difficult."

AIR Worldwide Corp., meanwhile, projected insured losses of no more than $500 million from the typhoon.