Aon (AON) said Thursday that economic losses due to catastrophes hit a record $83 billion in Q1, compared with $54 billion a year earlier.

The first-quarter losses far exceeded the Q1 historical average of $61 billion, driven by an insured loss of $38 billion from the California wildfires coupled with deadly earthquakes in Myanmar and China and severe convective storm outbreaks across portions of the US, the company said.

US economic losses totaled $71 billion in Q1, the highest since 1994 and nearly six times historical average, while losses for all other regions were below their long-term Q1 averages, the company said.

The $53 billion of insured losses globally during Q1 also marked the second-highest amount ever, trailing only the first quarter of 2011, Aon said.

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