Australia's natural disasters bill hits $3.5 billion in 2022, billions more to come

FILE PHOTO: Ewan Thomas walks past floodwaters inundating a residential area, following heavy rains and severe flooding in the McGraths Hill suburb of Sydney, Australia, July 6, 2022. REUTERS/Loren Elliott

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Floods and natural disasters that hit all but one Australian state and territory in 2022 cost the economy A$5 billion ($3.48 billion) and stoked inflation according to Treasury estimates which forecast billions more spending in 2023.

Australia suffered four major bouts of flooding last year, with global reinsurer Munich Re estimating that February and March flooding across northern New South Wales state that killed more than 20 was the fourth most costly global disaster in 2022.