Natural disasters strike the very poorest

While in industrialised countries natural disasters chiefly cause financial harm, in developing countries they place many lives in danger

Please read the whole Interview in the Welthungerhilfe newspaper "Welternährung" December 2009.

Diagram: People affected by natural disasters
(1999-2008). Please click here for an enlarged
imageNatural disasters such as earthquakes, droughts and hurricanes primarily strike in developing countries. Of all people, it is principally the poor who are left to feel the brunt of nature’s force. They lose what little they own, their livelihoods, their lives. In comparison, however, industrialised countries suffer few victims; the high losses that they suffer are chiefly financial. Experts fear that climate change will bring about yet more storms, torrential rain and droughts.

It is five years since, at the end of December 2004, the pictures of the tsunami in South-East Asia shocked the world. But 2008 was also a year of disasters, costing the lives of almost 250,000. The majority of the victims were in China (cold temperatures, earthquakes, floods) and Myanmar (Cyclone Nargis accounted for the deaths of 138,000). Equally devastating were the hurricanes Gustav, Ike and Hanna in the Carribean. Worldwide, over 200 million people were affected by natural disasters.

Diagram: : People killed by natural disasters
(1999-2008). Please click here for an enlarged
image Prevention saves lives

The numbers affected in 2007 were similarly high: with more than 100 million affected, the floods in China were particularly severe, as were those in India and Bangladesh, each totalling more than ten million. And in Bangladesh, cyclone Sidr was devastating. However, Sidr also demonstrates the value of disaster prevention: while 138,000 were killed in a similarly strong cyclone in 1991, the total of 4,000 deaths in 2007 was
considerably lower.


Natural Disasters in Europe

In 2003, Europe was caught off guard by an extreme heat wave which led to the deaths of 35,000 people, and similar numbers died after the Bam earthquake in Iran. 2002 was a year of hunger and droughts: almost 430 million people were affected, with around 300 million in India alone. To this can be added the 167 million affected by floods, and 113.4 million affected by storms.

Diagram: Losses incurred by natural disasters
(1999-2008). Please click here for an enlarged
imageOn top of the occurrence of large-scale forest fires, key examples of the economic losses suffered by industrialised states were hurricane Kyrill in Europe (2007), hurricane Katrina in the USA (2005), four more US hurricanes and ten typhoons in Japan (2004), as well as high water levels in Europe (2002).

Early Warning Systems help to save lives. Under the threat of a hurricane or the imminent arrival of earth and seaquakes, they allow people to bring themselves to safety before it is too late. Climate change increases the risks of disaster. In working together to achieve development, it is becoming increasingly important to be able to better estimate the potential risks and put into action Early Warning Systems. To achieve this, it is also vital to ensure that those in danger are familiar with the  emergency procedures created, and are in a position to save themselves.