The graphic below shows that while natural disas- in trend: while the frequency of earthquakes shows
ters reported have increased globally, some of this little variability, floods and cyclones have occurred
increase can be attributed to the increase in com- more frequently in the last 30 years. However, while
munications: while disasters happened before, few intense tropical cyclones have increased since about
people would have known about them. But the dis- 1970, high variability over several decades and a
tinction between climate-dependent disasters like lack of systematic high quality observation before
tropical cyclones and others not influenced by cli- satellite observations make it difficult to detect long-
mate (such as earthquakes) shows a clear difference term trends.
Number of disasters
per year
450
Trends in number of reported disasters
Much of the increase in the number of hazardous
400
events reported is probably due to significant
All disasters
improvements in information access and also to
population growth, but the number of floods and
350
cyclones reported is still rising compared to
All disasters include:
earthquakes. Is global warming affecting the
drought, earthquake,
frequency of natural hazards?
extreme temperatures,
300 famine, flood, insect
infestation, slides,
volcanic eruption, wave
250
and surge, wild fires,
wind storm.
250
200 200
Earthquakes
versus climatic disasters
150 150
Floods
100 100
Earthquakes
50 50 Cyclones
Earthquakes
0 0
1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2010 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
Source: CRED Annual Disaster Statistical Review 2006, 2007.
12 Planet in Peril
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