UN says 2011 disasters were the costliest in history

The economic cost of disasters in 2011 was the highest in history -- costing at least $380 billion, mainly due to earthquakes in Japan and New Zealand, a U.N. envoy said Monday.

Margareta Wahlstrom, the secretary-general's special representative for disaster risk reduction, said the figure was two-thirds higher than the previous record in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina struck the southern United States.

In addition to the earthquakes, Wahlstrom said major floods in Thailand and other countries caused extensive damage.

Despite the rising costs, she said, deaths from disasters are proportionally declining because countries are getting much better at instituting early warning systems and preparedness measures.

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  Earthquake-triggered tsumanis sweep shores along Iwanuma in northern. The magnitude 8.9 earthquake slammed Japan's eastern coast, unleashing a 4-metre tsunami that swept boats, cars, buildings and tons of debris miles inland, March 11, 2011. (Kyodo News)