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Thirty Years of Natural Disasters 1974-2003: the Thirtynumbers Years of Disasters 1974-2003: Natural cover 23/11/04 10:52 Page 1 Centre for Research The publication on the Epidemiology of Disasters Over the last 30 years, 6,367 natural disasters killed more than 2 million people. A cumulative total of 5.1 billion individuals were affected, of which 182 million were left homeless.These same disasters caused US$1.4 trillion worth of damages. Data on natural disasters and their impact on populations and economies play an essential role in understanding the factors that increase human vulnerability and the importance of disaster THIRTY YEARS OF NATURAL DISASTERS preparedness, mitigation and prevention. 1974-2003: THE NUMBERS The public Policy analysts, aid and development specialists, researchers and journalists are invited to read this book to familiarize themselves with the occurrence and impact of natural disasters. Engineers, environmental and insurance specialists and other technical professionals will also find this publication valuable. The authors Debarati Guha-Sapir is Director of the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) and Professor at the School of Public Health of the Université catholique de Louvain (UCL). Previously trained in Calcutta University and Johns Hopkins University, she holds a doctorate in epidemiology. For over 20 years, she has been involved in field research and training in humanitarian aid issues. David Hargitt is a Research Project Officer at CRED. He coordinates projects on disasters and complex emergencies and is in charge of GIS and mapping applications for the centre. He has degrees in biology, human ecology, cartography and remote sensing. Philippe Hoyois is a Senior Research Fellow at CRED where he is in charge of data analysis. D. Guha-Sapir A sociologist, he has been involved over many years in medical and epidemiological studies and has D. Hargitt extensive experience in mental health and psychiatric emergency issues. P. Hoyois About CRED The Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters is based at the School of Public Health of the Université catholique de Louvain in Brussels, Belgium. For over 30 years, the centre has been involved in multidisciplinary research, training and information dissemination on disasters and conflicts, with a special focus on public health and socio-economic impacts. THIRTY YEARS OF NATURAL DISASTERS 1974-2003: THE THIRTYNUMBERS YEARS OF DISASTERS 1974-2003: NATURAL Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters publication CRED 23/11/04 10:01 Page 1 publication CRED 23/11/04 10:01 Page 2 publication CRED 23/11/04 10:01 Page 3 THIRTY YEARS OF NATURAL DISASTERS 1974-2003: THE NUMBERS publication CRED 23/11/04 10:01 Page 4 publication CRED 23/11/04 10:01 Page 5 THIRTY YEARS OF NATURAL DISASTERS 1974-2003: THE NUMBERS D. Guha-Sapir D. Hargitt P. Hoyois Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters publication CRED 23/11/04 10:01 Page 6 © Presses universitaires de Louvain, 2004 Registration of copyright: D/2004/9964/32 ISBN : 2-930344-71-7 Cover : Printed in Belgium All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, adapted or translated, in any form or by any means, in any country, without the prior permission of Presses universitaires de Louvain. Distribution : www.i6doc.com, on-line university publishers Available on order from bookshops or at CIACO University Distributors Grand-Place, 7 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium Tel. 32 10 47 33 78 Fax 32 10 45 73 50 [email protected] publication CRED 23/11/04 10:01 Page 7 Acknowledgements: This report was made possible thanks to the unflagging encouragements and confidence shown by Margaret Arnold of the World Bank's Hazard Management Unit (formerly the Disaster Management Facility) and Kelly Sponberg of the U.S. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Agency's Climate Information Program (NOAA/CIP).The CRED team also expresses its appre- ciation to Rhonda Davis, Harry Proctor and Nate Smith at the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) who were supportive of this initiative from its early stages. Funding for this report was made available by the Provention Consortium (Disaster Management Facility, World Bank). Additional funds have been provided by NOAA/CIP and USAID/OFDA. This report has been prepared by: Régina Below David Bréchet Debarati Guha-Sapir David Hargitt Philippe Hoyois Consulting Editor Dianna Rienstra, Phoenix Ink Communications - Brussels Printed by: Jacoffset Printers – Louvain-La-Neuve Brussels, November 2004 Contact: Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) Department of Public Health Université catholique de Louvain 30.94 Clos Chapelle-aux-Champs B-1200 Brussels Belgium Telephone: +32-2-764.33.26/33.27 [email protected] www.cred.be We encourage the free use of the contents of this report with appropriate and full citation. publication CRED 23/11/04 10:01 Page 8 publication CRED 23/11/04 10:01 Page 9 About CRED and our partners The Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) was established in Brussels in 1973 at the School of Public Health of the Université catholique de Louvain (UCL) as a non-profit institution with international status under Belgian law. In 1980, CRED became a World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre as part of WHO’s Global Programme for Emergency Preparedness and Response. Since then, CRED has increased its international network substantially and collaborates closely with numerous UN agencies, inter-government and governmental institutions, non-governmental organizations, as well as several research institutes and universities. The goals With a special focus on public health, epi- Some of CRED’s partners demiology, structural and socioeconomic issues, CRED promotes research, training, International Agencies information dissemination and technical World Health Organization (WHO) services on disasters and other humanitar- United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN/OCHA) ian emergencies. It aims to enhance the United Nations Inter-Agency Secretariat of the International Strategy for effectiveness of developing countries' dis- Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR) aster management and prevention capabil- United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) ities as well as fostering policy oriented World Bank Hazard Management Unit (WB/HMU) research. United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) The scope Inter-Governmental and Government Institutions CRED's activities focus on all emergency European Union situations with a major human impact.This United States Government includes all types of sudden, natural or Belgian Government Direction Générale de la Coopération Internationale (DGCI) man-made catastrophes, such as hurri- canes, earthquakes and industrial acci- Non-Governmental Organizations dents, and longer-term disasters and com- International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) plex emergencies, such as famines and Save the Children - UK (SCF/UK) armed conflicts. CRED focuses primarily Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) on the public health and sanitary aspects ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM) of mass disasters, as well as on their Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC) socioeconomic and developmental effects. However, disaster preparedness, mitigation Universities and Research Institutes and prevention for vulnerable populations St. Luc Hospital Departments of Emergency Medicine and Psychiatry, Belgium is gaining a higher profile. Instituto Superiore della Sanita, Italy Harvard School of Public Health, U.S. The staff University of Columbia Earth Institute, U.S. CRED is headed by Dr. Debarati Guha- Sapir, an epidemiologist and public health expert with more than 20 years of expe- rience in the field.The staff at the Centre is both multidisciplinary and multicultural; the working languages are French and English. publication CRED 23/11/04 10:01 Page 10 publication CRED 23/11/04 10:01 Page 11 Table of contents A look behind the numbers 13 Disaster data – handle with care 15 Disasters have evolved over time 20 Where do disasters occur? 27 How are people affected by disasters? 30 The inextricable link between poverty and disasters 34 Tallying the costs 38 Epidemics 46 Donors prefer certain types of disasters 50 Looking to the future 53 Annex 1: disaster maps 57 Annex 2: statistical tables 73 publication CRED 23/11/04 10:01 Page 12 publication CRED 23/11/04 10:01 Page 13 A look behind the numbers Today, the world is facing disasters on an unprece- people and communities suffering abject misery dented scale: more than 255 million people were and multiple deaths. affected by natural disasters globally each year, on average, between 1994 and 2003, with a range of 68 • Finally, the reality is that development program- million to 618 million. During the same period, these mers often neglect the importance of disaster disasters claimed an average of 58,000 lives annually, reduction due to the absence of convincing with a range of 10,000 to 123,000. In the year 2003, analyses of trends and estimated losses.There is 1 in 25 people worldwide was affected by natural little demand by the development sector for disasters. reliable and systematic data on disasters to assess their socio-economic impact over the During the last decade disasters caused damage of an short term and even less so over the long term. estimated US$67 billion per year on average, with a As a result, disaster prevention activities often maximum of US$230 billion and a minimum of appear costly. US$28 billion.The economic cost associated with nat- ural disasters has increased 14-fold since the 1950s. An ad hoc response Scientific predictions and evidence indicates that The need for systematic data for disaster mitiga- global climate change will increase the number of tion and prevention has been a growing concern extreme events, creating more frequent and intensi- of both development and emergency response fied natural hazards such as floods and windstorms. agencies. Until recently the needs were addressed Population growth, urbanization and the inability of on an ad hoc basis by collecting information at the poor populations to escape from the vicious cycle of time of the emergency.
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