Damage from Hurricane Hermine last month provided a reminder of the risks faced by Florida after more than a decade without a similar storm crossing the US state’s coastline, according to Impact Forecasting.

The storm caused economic losses of at least $US800 million ($1.05 billion), with public and private insurers expecting insured losses of about $US400 million ($527 million), the Aon Benfield subsidiary’s catastrophe report for September says.

The report was issued just days before Hurricane Matthew caused widespread flood and damage in southern states including Florida and the Carolinas.

“The past 11 years have been unusually inactive for the state, but it was a matter of time before it was faced with a landfalling event, given the state’s longer-term historical trends,” Impact Forecasting’s Global Head Adam Podlaha said.

“With the general increase in coastal populations, event preparedness is paramount, and in this regard the insurance industry and catastrophe modellers are well positioned to help residents understand their exposures.”

Hermine was the first hurricane to strike Florida since Wilma in October 2005.

Globally, tropical cyclone landfalls caused $US4.2 billion ($5.5 billion) of economic damage last month, the report says.

Super Typhoon Meranti grazed southern Taiwan and the northern Philippines before making landfall in China’s Fujian province, causing economic losses of $US2.4 billion ($3.2 billion).

Notable weather events also included typhoons Megi and Malakas, and Hurricane Newton.

Other natural hazards last month included a 5.9-magnitude earthquake in Tanzania and quakes in Oklahoma, South Korea and Macedonia.

The magnitude-5.8 event near the Oklahoma town of Pawnee was the largest quake recorded in the state. There were no reports of casualties or major damage, but dozens of resource-extraction industry wastewater wells were shut down afterwards.

There were floods in India’s Telangana and Andhra Pradesh states, and deadly and damaging floods were recorded in Indonesia, China, Nigeria, Canada, Mexico, Greece, Australia and the US.

The Soberanes fire continued to burn in California’s Los Padres National Forest throughout September, after starting on July 22.