The total economic loss from Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent flooding in New Orleans is expected to exceed US$100bn (£54.3bn, 80.2bn euro), according to California-based Risk Management Solutions.

The company has warned that the cost of interrupted economic activity in New Orleans will be more than US$100m (£54.3m, 80.2m euro) a day.

Dane Douetil, chief executive of Brit Insurance, has also said that total insurance losses could reach up to US$50bn (£27bn, 40bn euro).

He added that when the company last calculated the potential losses from a storm of Katrina’s magnitude, it predicted a hit of £82.4m (US$151.9m, 121m euro).

Last year’s four Florida hurricanes resulted in a total of nearly US$23bn (£12.5bn, 18.4bn euro) of claims. Details: www.rms.com