The United States experiences a large number of hail events,
but hail can occur anywhere in the world – especially in areas near mountainous
terrain. Western China and northern India experience hail quite
frequently, as do areas near the Alps in Europe, the Andes in South America and
in mountainous east Africa. New South Wales in Australia is also known for its
catastrophic hail events.
Amid the current Texas “hail crisis” – an analysis and evaluation of how other parts
of the world address and resolve hail-damage claims may provide some valuable
insight to those currently in the trenches of hail claims and litigation.
Below is a brief summary of the countries experiencing the most hail and
the types of hail events these countries experience. Later in this
series, we will provide an analysis of how each of these countries addresses
and resolves hail damage claims.
But first – the Hail of Fame
1.
Kenya
2.
United
States (The Great Plains)
3.
Australia
4.
Southern
China
5.
India
Kenya
When you
think of the places in the world experiencing hail events, Kenya probably
doesn’t come to mind. However, Kericho, Kenya holds the world record of
132 days of hail in one year and annually experiences approximately 50 days of
hail. Despite the frequency, Kenyan hail is typically small. Kericho is
close to the equator and at an elevation of 7,200 feet, which contributes to it
being a hot spot for hail. Kenya's localized hail storms damage tea
crops, and in many
cases, are one of the largest single natural variables affecting tea
production.
United States
Although Bangladesh holds the record for the heaviest
recorded hailstone, the United States
claims a close second. The largest officially recognized hailstone
on record to have been ‘captured’ in the U.S. fell near Vivian, South Dakota on
July 23rd, 2010. It measured 8.0” in diameter, 18 ½” in
circumference, and weighed in at 1.9375
pounds.
In
the United States,
hail storms most frequently occur in what has been referred to as “Hail Alley” - more specifically the
Great Plains areas of Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Texas, and Oklahoma.
Hail in this area of the country is most likely to
fall late in the afternoon during the months of May and June and is often
responsible for extensive crop loss, property damage and livestock deaths.
According to NOAA’s Severe Storms database, there were over
5,000 major hail storms in 2015; with over 1,300 occurring during the month of June. Since
2010, nearly 40 percent of all insured losses resulted from claims related to
wind and hail damage, averaging $15 billion
annually and growing. In the state of Texas alone, insured losses
from two hailstorms that
occurred in March 2016 are currently expected to exceed $1.5 billion.
China
Just this past June 2016, a tornado and extreme hailstorm in China’s
eastern Jiangsu Province, just north of Shanghai, destroyed buildings and
killed 51 people. A month later, a South China Airlines Airbus A320 made a
miraculous landing after it sustained extensive hail damage, forcing the pilots to
land the plane blind.
In China's Henan province, twenty-two (some say twenty-five) were killed by a hailstorm in 2002, and nine more were killed in a hailstorm in 2003 in the Dingxi
Prefecture. As recently as 2009, fourteen were
killed by hail in the Anhui province and buildings collapsed.
Australia
Perhaps the single costliest hailstorm in world history struck the
Sydney, Australia area on April 14, 1999. Hailstones up to 3½” in diameter fell
for almost 60 minutes damaging 20,000 structures and 40,000 vehicles. The total
sum of insured losses reached A$1.7bn, and the
estimated direct economic losses were over A$2.3bn.
In November 2014, a hail storm battered the Brisbane area, producing
hailstones even larger than those in 1999. This hailstorm occurred during
rush hour, damaging more than 60,000 cars, 22,000 commercial and residential
buildings and injuring 30 people. The number of insurance claims exceeded
100,000, with a total insured loss of A$1.35bn, and a direct economic loss
estimated at A$1.8bn.
India
The Deccan Plateau of northern India is home to
some of the most deadly hailstorms, and perhaps the largest
hailstones, in the world. In fact, the heaviest authenticated hailstone ever measured
was one of 2.25 pounds that fell in the Gopalganj district of Bangladesh (which
was once part of India) on April 14, 1986. The stones were not officially
recorded and measured, although anecdotal reports claimed the stones were the
size of “pumpkins”.
In 1888, a hailstorm in
Moradabad, India killed more than 250 people. More
recently, a 2013 hail storm killed
at least 9 people in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, also destroying
houses, crops, and livestock. Hail events, so devastating to crops in this area
of the world, have prompted novel methods to minimize the catastrophic impact
in the agriculture industry.
Posted by Jennifer Gibbs
