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CX2SA > CLIMAT 02.01.10 18:03l 114 Lines 5761 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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55 MILLION PEOPLE AFFECTED BY EXTREME WEATHER DISASTERS IN 2009
===============================================================
Copenhagen - Over three quarters of the people killed - and 95 % of the
total affected by natural hazards - since the beginning of the year were due
to extreme weather events said Ms. Margareta Wahlström, the United Nations
Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk
Reduction, based on the preliminary 2009 disaster figures.
The 2009 figures released by the Belgian WHO collaborating Center for
Research on Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) cover the period from 1 January
to November 2009.
Out of the 245 disasters in 2009, 224 were weather related, accounting for
55 million people out of the 58 million people affected, 7000 out of 8900
of those killed, and US$ 15 billion out of the US$ 19 billion in economic
damages.
In 2009, 11 million people were affected by floods compared to 178 million
people in 2007, and 45 million in 2008.
"Statistics this year show lower figures compared to previous years, which
is a good news for people and countries, however extreme weather disasters
remain top of the list and will continue to affect more people in the future
as more than half of the world's population highly exposed is living in
coastal regions" said Margareta Wahlström.
"The extreme weather event figures are probably underestimated as drought
impacts are not easily detected in disaster statistics" said Professor
Debarati Guha Sapir, Director of CRED in a joint UNISDR, UNDP and WMO press
conference today in Copenhagen.
Drought is a major hazard and a slow onset disaster in many part of the
world with long term consequences on people and their assets. It undermines
livelihoods, kills slowly through malnutrition and disease. In Africa alone,
drought accounted for less than 20% of disaster occurrences but represented
80% of all people affected in the continent between 1970 and 2008 (CRED).
In Kenya this year, 3.8 million people needed food and assistance. Other
regions such as Central America, Colombia and Western Sahel were also
affected by serious droughts.
"Access to clean water, in fact access to any water at all, is already a
major threat to human security. Disasters can be caused by too little water
as well too much water. In cities around the world, even simple measures
such as drainage systems can save lives and prevent losses" said Margareta
Wahlström.
Asia is especially vulnerable to storms and floods. Between January and
November 2009, 48 million people were affected by weather-related events ,
which remains at highest risk with the largest numbers of affected people.
Michel Jarraud, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization
who announced the year 2009 among the top 10 warmest years on record since
the beginning of instrumental climate records in 1850 underlined the
importance of early warning systems, and seasonal climate forecasts to
manage risks and to better prepared vulnerable populations to cope with more
extreme events.
"Progress in monitoring, forecasting and warnings of climate-related
hazards, linked to effective emergency preparedness and response on the
ground, saves lives. In the last five decades, globally, while the numbers
of disasters and related economic losses have increased between 10 and 50
times, the reported loss of life has dramatically been reduced by a factor
of 10. Climate forecasting and information allows us to plan our communities
better so as to reduce the risk of disaster when extreme weather strikes.
This can help save livelihoods through better planning in health,
agriculture, insurance and water resource management" said Michel Jarraud.
Benefits of investments in tropical cyclone early warning systems were
demonstrated in Cuba in 2008, when the country was hit by five successive
hurricanes, but only 7 people were reported dead. In Bangladesh, nearly 3500
lives were lost during super cyclone Sidr in November 2007, compared to two
other events in 1970 and 1991 which respectively claimed over 300,000 and
191,000.
Those examples are however still rare. A survey conducted by WMO in 2006
revealed that over 60% of the WMO's 189 Members are not adequately equipped
with the technical capacities to warn populations against hazards,
particularly in most vulnerable countries. These capacities need to be
developed. In addition, climate information, forecasts and projection
combined with operational and strategic sectoral planning provide
unprecedented opportunities for saving livelihoods and reduce economic risks
associated with hazards in many sectors such as agriculture, water resource
management, health and insurance.
"There are proven measures for reducing the tragic and devastating losses
from climate disasters" said Olav Kjorven, Policy Director at the United
Nations Development Programme. "They include early warning systems,
adjusted building codes, resilient infrastructure and government crisis
response plans. Successful preparation and planning can prevent death and
minimize the level of damage to homes, schools, hospitals, roads and
harvests."
Trends in extreme events and capacities to manage disaster risks are
currently being assessed as part of the new WMO/UNEP Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change Special Report called: "Managing the Risk of Extreme
Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation" that will be
released in 2011.
Statistics: Natural Disasters* in 2009 (January - November)
- Occurrence of natural disasters: 245
- Total deaths: 8919
- Total affected: 58 million
- Estimated damage: 19 billion US$
* Biological disasters excluded
Source: WMO
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