August 26, 2011 8:40 AM EDT
As Hurricane Irene barrels its way up the eastern coast of the U.S., forecasters are predicting not only brutal gale-force winds, torrential rains and massive flooding of low-lying areas, but also multibillion dollars in economic damages.
While it's impossible to accurately gauge the financial impact of an impending natural disaster, Irene would truly have to be a catastrophic event to fall into the following list of the costliest natural disasters in recorded history.
5. Great Sichuan Earthquake (China)
The 8.0-magnitude earthquake that struck Sichuan in southwest China in May 2008 took with it 70,000 lives, with at least 18,000 people still missing; and more than 370,000 injured.
The earthquake is estimated to have left at least five million people homeless. Millions of animals in the agricultural province were also killed.
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The epicenter of the quake was 50 miles west-northwest of Chengdu, a city of more than four million people.
The tremors were felt more than 1,100 miles away in Beijing.
The World Bank estimates the disaster caused $29 billion in direct damages.
4. Northridge Earthquake (U.S.)
The 6.7-magnitude earthquake created widespread damage in the densely populated city of Los Angeles and San Fernando Valley when it struck on January 1994.
The quake killed 60 people, injured more than 8,700 and left more than 25,000 people homeless, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Due to its location, the quake suspended production of various TV and movie projects.
Interestingly, several insurance companies either stopped providing or drastically reduced earthquake-related policies in California thereafter.
Estimates of the economic damages left in its wake range from $25 billion up to $42 billion.
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