The Insurance Council this morning released provisional stats on Cyclone Fehi showing the storm had already cost insurers almost $38.5 million. Cyclone Fehi hit New Zealand on 1 February, causing widespread wind damage and flooding in exposed coastal towns. States of emergency were declared in Dunedin and Buller. Fehi was the second major storm to strike New Zealand in 2018, hitting less than a month after the remnants of an early January storm receded. The costs of these events have not been insignificant. “We’ve had $65.2 million in insured losses from extreme weather events already this year, off the back of two storms in the first quarter of 2018, and we’re yet to receive the data for Cyclone Gita,” said Grafton. “It’s important that we don’t lose sight of the impact cumulative extreme weather events can have. And this is the sort of thing we can expect to see with ongoing climate change – more frequent, more severe storms.” Cyclone Fehi cost $22.3 million in domestic losses alone, more than 58% of the total cost of the event.