Extratropical Cyclone Niklas hits Europe hard

Firefighters remove parts of a tree from a street at Wedding district in Berlin on March 31, 2015. One of the strongest storm fronts to hit Germany in years, Storm Niklas uncovered roofs, toppled scaf/ REUTERS

Insured losses from Extratropical Cyclone Niklas, which hit areas of Europe in late March, likely will range between €1.0 billion and €1.9 billion ($1.10 billion and $2.09 billion), according to catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide Corp.

The majority of the losses occurred in Germany, AIR said Tuesday, while losses also occurred in Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Yorn Tatge, managing director at AIR Worldwide GmbH in Munich, said that wind gust speeds recorded during the cyclone, which was at its most severe on March 31, were comparable to those seen during Windstorm Kyrill in 2007.