NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Natural and man-made catastrophes killed over 300,000 people around the world in 2004 and caused insured losses totaling nearly $50 billion worldwide, a report said on Tuesday.

Swiss Re, a Swiss reinsurer, said in its annual report that last year's death toll was significantly higher than 2003, when 60,000 people were killed as a result of catastrophes.

The report said the tsunami in the Indian Ocean in late December alone left 280,000 dead or missing, and most of the insured losses were due to storms in the United States and Japan caused by high sea-surface temperatures.

The report said total losses directly attributable to those catastrophes reached $123 billion, of which $49 billion was covered by property insurance. For property insurers, 2004 was a record year in terms of claims, mainly due to 13 hurricanes in the U.S. and 10 typhoons in Japan.

In 2003, Swiss Re said the total damage amounted to be around $70 billion, including insured losses of $18.5 billion.

Climatologists attribute the high windstorm frequency to above-average sea-surface temperatures and the high year-round average temperatures measured in the last decade, according to the report.

Last year was the fourth-warmest year around the world since regular temperature measurements began in 1861.