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Comprehensive Review
Conflicts of interest: none
Introduction
Data collected by the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED, Brussels, Belgium), the Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance (Washington DC USA), the United Nations, and the CRED's International Disaster Database (EM-DAT, Brussels, Belgium)1,2show an exponential increase in the number of natural disasters in parallel with the number of people affected by them (Table 1). Industrial accidents (chemical spills, gas leaks, explosions, fire, and water problems) and natural calamities (floods, storms, earthquakes, and epidemics) are responsible for most disaster-related injuries and deaths.
Table 1
Summary of Selected Disasters and Their Consequences from 1900-2013 (Rounded Values, Adapted from EM-DAT)1
Group | Type | Events | Deaths (x106) | Injured (x106) | Affected (x106) | Homeless (x106) | Total Affected (x106) | Damage Value $ US (×106) |
Natural | Drought | 643 | 11.7 | 0.0 | 2,165.4 | 0.02 | 2,165.4 | 135,427.90 |
Earthquake | 1,244 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 151.7 | 22.5 | 176.9 | 764,862.00 | |
Extreme Temperature | 489 | 0.1 | 1.9 | 95.6 | 0.2 | 97.8 | 57,527.30 | |
Flood | 4,234 | 6.9 | 1.3 | 3,450.7 | 88.4 | 3,540.4 | 612,693.00 | |
Storm | 3,596 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 881.7 | 52.5 | 935.5 | 941,147.30 | |
Volcano | 226 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 4.8 | 0.3 | 5.2 | 3,040.30 | |
Wildfire | 374 | 0.003 | 0.005 | 5.7 | 0.1 | 5.9 | 53,879.00 | |
Total | 10,806 | 22.8 | 7.1 | 6,755.9 | 164.4 | 6,927.5 | 2,568,577.20 | |
Techno-logical | Industrial Accident | 1,345 | 0.05 | 0.2 | 2.9 | 0.5 | 3.7 | 42,861.00 |
Misc. Accident | 1,290 | 0.06 | 0.07 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 3.4 | 2,665.30 | |
Transport Accident | 5,080 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.01 | 0.2 | 587.20 | |
Total | 7,715 | 0.34 | 0.40 | 5.8 | 1.1 | 7.3 | 46,113.50 |
Abbreviation: EM-DAT: Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters' International Disaster Database.
The reasons are multi-factorial and include: the population migration to urban areas, substandard expansion of the habitat areas around big cities, new settlements in unsafe areas such as floodplains or low-lying regions, deforestation, expansion of the built environment along shorelines, climate change, and an increase of the vulnerable population segment. Save the Children3(Fairfield, Connecticut USA) anticipates that in the current decade, 175 million children per year will be affected by natural disasters directly attributed to climate change. Even if fewer children are killed in these circumstances, the sharp increase in the number of those affected draws a concerning picture for their future.
Affected regions and populations may...