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The high number of weather-related natural disasters in 2010 has made it an "exceptional" year, the world's top reinsurer has said.

The floods in Pakistan and China and the Haiti earthquake have killed tens of thousands of people, costing USD 130 billion.

"The high number of weather-related natural catastrophes and record temperatures both globally and in different regions of the world provide further indications of advancing climate change," said Munich Re in a report.

A total of 950 natural catastrophes were recorded last year, making 2010 the second worst year since 1980.

Haiti's earthquake was by far the worst disaster in terms of human cost, killing 222,570 people; however, it cost the insurance industry very little.

But a month later, the earthquake that hit Chile was the world's most expensive natural disaster last year, with overall losses of USD 30 billion and insured losses of USD 8 billion.

Also in 2010, around 56,000 died in a combination of heat waves and forest fires in Russia, according to AFP.

In 2009, which is considered a "benign" year due to the absence of major catastrophes and a less severe than usual hurricane season in the North Atlantic, there were 900 "destructive natural hazard events", costing around USD 60 billion.

Around 11,000 people lost their lives in natural disasters in 2009.

Last month, insurer Swiss Re reported that man-made and natural disasters caused USD 222 billion of economic losses in 2010, more than three times the figure in 2009.