14 hours Ago By Reuters
April 29 - This is an excerpt of the Sustainable Switch newsletter, where we make sense of companies and governments grappling with climate change, diversity, and human rights on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. To receive the full newsletter in your inbox for free sign up here . Sign up here.
Hello, South Korea, Ecuador, China and Turkey have been struggling with wildfires and earthquakes this week as reinsurance company Swiss Re released a report showing that hurricanes, storms, floods and other natural disasters may cause $145 billion in insured losses in 2025, nearly 6% up from 2024. Before we get into the details of the disasters, please note there will be no Sustainable Switch on Thursday and Friday this week, but I’ll be back with the latest environmental news next Tuesday. Now back to South Korea where more than 1,200 residents in the city of Daegu have been ordered to evacuate after strong winds whipped up a wildfire and prompted the closure of a highway in the area due to concerns about the blaze.
The wildfire affected an estimated 50 hectares (123.6 acres) in less than two hours due to dry conditions and constant winds, the Korea Forest Service said in a statement. In March, South Korea suffered its worst ever natural fire disaster, with nearly 30 people killed and historic temples incinerated.
In keeping with natural disasters in Asia, click here for a Reuters graphics map using scientific analysis to show why Myanmar’s "supershear" quake last month was so devastating. The quake has killed more than 3,700 people, flattened communities and crippled infrastructure in the impoverished nation. Earthquakes hit Ecuador, China and Turkey Over in Ecuador, a magnitude 6.
3 earthquake struck its coast, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) said, injuring at least 20 people, damaging buildings in the city of Esmeraldas and temporarily shutting down some oil infrastructure. The quake struck at a depth of 23 km (14 miles), EMSC said, with Ecuadorean authorities ruling out issuing a tsunami warning. Elsewhere, a 4.
8 magnitude earthquake hit Tibet's remote Rutog County, China's Earthquake Networks Centre said. Over in Turkey, more than a thousand people in Istanbul turned to mosques, schools and other temporary shelters after a strong earthquake rattled the Turkish metropolis, leaving some 1.5 million buildings at risk, authorities said.
The tremor revived memories of a 1999 earthquake that killed 17,000 near Istanbul, Europe's largest city which also spans across the Bosphorus Strait to Asia. February 2023's 7.8-magnitude earthquake was the deadliest and most destructive in Turkey's modern history, killing more than 55,000 people in the south and in neighbouring Syria, and leaving hundreds of thousands still displaced.
Tallying the cost of natural disasters The series of wildfires and earthquakes comes as reinsurance company Swiss Re released a report showing that this year may be one of the costliest on record in insured losses caused by natural disasters. The year's projected tally of losses from natural catastrophes covered by insurance compares with $137 billion recorded in 2024 and is well above long-term averages. The report pointed to the wildfires in Los Angeles at the beginning of the year as a major contributor to the projected figure, causing estimated insured losses of $40 billion.
Total losses from natural catastrophes, including those not covered by insurance, came in at $318 billion in 2024, the report said. That is up from $292 billion in 2023 and significantly above longer-term averages. ESG Spotlight Today’s spotlight shines a light on a project aimed at helping communities profit from efforts to protect at least 30% of the world's oceans by the end of the decade.
The new initiative launched last week, dubbed Revive Our Ocean, is led by the NGO Dynamic Planet together with the National Geographic Society's Pristine Seas programme and will assist local communities in their efforts to establish "marine protected areas" in coastal waters. It will focus initially on tackling overfishing and ocean climate impacts in Britain, Portugal, Greece, Turkey, Mexico, the Philippines and Indonesia. Today’s Sustainable Switch was edited by Mark Potter Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them.
They can also subscribe here. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab Thomson Reuters Sharon is the creator, curator and editor of the Reuters Sustainable Switch newsletter and the Sustainable Business vertical on Reuters.
com. She joined Reuters after a stint as the Inclusive Economies Editor at the Thomson Reuters Foundation. She enjoys writing about the intersection between climate and social injustice and can be contacted via email for ESG-related queries.
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