Worldwide weather-related disaster occurrence and deaths by income 1995-2015

This statistic shows the share of occurrence and death tolls for weather-related disasters worldwide in the period from 1995 to 2015, by national income level. During the past 20 years, around 13 percent of weather-related disasters affected lower-income countries.

Natural disasters and loss – additional information

The years 2014 and 2015 are two of the hottest years recorded since the 1880s. In 2014, there were 20 deaths caused by extreme heat in the United States. The increased risk of extreme weather due to climate change has put pressure on countries to develop regulations to better protect infrastructure and human health. Between 1995 and 2015, about a third of the global weather-related disasters occurred in lower-middle income countries, however, almost half of the deaths due to these events affected these countries. The number of deaths caused by the Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar contributed significantly to these statistics. In high-income countries, weather-related deaths are largely due to heat waves. The actual number of casualties in low-income countries is estimated to be much higher and may reflect a lack of reporting.

China and India have been among the most severely impacted countries in the world in terms of weather catastrophes, accounting for some 3 billion people that have been affected between 1995 and 2015. Economic loss due to these events totaled some 47 billion U.S. dollars in the Asia and Oceania regions. Millions of houses as well as public institutions such as schools, clinics, and hospitals have been damaged by weather-related disasters, primarily due to floods and storms. Over the last decades, countries have improved their preparedness as well as their response to natural disasters. Several countries in Asia have begun to follow the Hyogo Framework for Action, a guideline developed to help reduce disaster risk, in efforts to reduce the losses derived from these catastrophes.