Natural catastrophes

10. 7, hurricane, fatalities

USA & Caribbean: hurricane Dennis killed about 60 people in Cuba and Haiti before moving across north-west Florida and Alabama. Despite downed power lines and outages affecting half a million people early reports indicated damage in the US was less severe than hurricane Ivan, which struck the same area in 2004. Insurance risk modelling company AIR estimated insured damage at $1bn to $2.5bn. President George W Bush declared Florida, Mississippi and Alabama disaster areas, making them eligible for federal recovery aid. In Cuba, the hurricane devastated 11 provinces and caused the evacuation of 1.5mn people while agricultural production suffered severe damage.