This year has been truly disastrous for nearly all parts of the globe.

The Japan tragedy. New Zealand quakes. Midwest tornadoes. Flooding everywhere.

Mother Nature has been relentless.

So much so that in terms of both overall economic losses and insured losses, the first six months of 2011 have set a record for the most damage, according to Munich Re. The company tallies the overall losses at $265 billion with insurers being on the hook for $60 billion of that.

Both are unprecedented (with the insured loss number being nearly five times the average first-half total since 2001) and the $265 billion worth of carnage is not just the most ever for six months — it’s more than any other yearly total. Based largely on the destruction of Hurricane Katrina, 2005 was the previous worts loss year with about $220 billion.