Potential damages of EUR 1.8 bln if catastrophic earthquake hits Romania

An earthquake as strong as the one in 1977 would cause damages of EUR 1.8 billion if it took place nowadays, according to the Finance Ministry’s estimates, reports local Ziarul Financiar. The number of insured homes in Romania is very low. Of the total number of eight million homes at national level, only 1.7 million, or less than 20%, have insurance. Insurance companies had gross written premiums on the property segment worth RON 703 million (EUR 156.2 million) in the first nine months of 2016. Romania’s exposure to earthquakes is one of the highest in Europe. The 1977 earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.2, killed about 1,578 people in Romania, mostly in Bucharest, and wounded more than 11,300. The economic losses of that earthquake were estimated at USD 2 billion, but the sum was not confirmed by the authorities at that time. editor@romania-insider.com