Natural disasters cost India $80 billion in 20 years: UN report

Natural disasters cost India $80 billion in 20 years: UN report

News:

1. UN office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) recently released annual report highlighting India’s losses owing to various natural disasters.

Important Facts:

2. The study was jointly conducted by UNISDR and Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) and released before October 13, the International Day for Disaster Reduction.
3. Findings of the UNISDR report:

• Globally, disaster losses during the 20-year period of 1998 to 2017 have been estimated at $3 trillion. These losses have increased by more than 120% in the last 20 years compared to the preceding two decades (1978-1997).
• The climate-related disaster losses, globally have gone up by more than 151%.
• In the period 1998-2017(two decades), disaster-hit countries reported direct economic losses of more than $2 billion of which climate-related disasters accounted for 77% of the total.
• This compares with total reported losses for the period 1978-1997((two decades) of more than $1 billion of which climate-related disasters accounted for 68%, of the total economic losses.
• SO in the last 20 years, climate-related disasters killed 1.3 million people and left 4.4 billion injured and homeless.
• The three European countries are in the top 10 nations having suffered maximum economic losses on account of these climate change disasters e., France ($48 billion), Germany ($58 billion) and Italy ($57 billion).
• UN report also reported that data related to disaster loss is not available for 87% of disasters in low-income countries.
• While the majority of fatalities were due to geophysical events, mostly earthquakes and tsunamis, 91% of all disasters were caused by floods, storms, droughts, heat waves and other extreme weather events.

4. India’s case:

• India has been ranked among world’s top five countries in absolute economic losses
• The natural disasters in India have cost the nation $80 billion in losses during the 20-year period from 1998 to 2017.

5. Impact of disasters:

• The economic losses from extreme weather events are unsustainable and a major brake on eradicating poverty in hazard-exposed parts of the world.
• The economic losses suffered by low and lower-middle income countries have crippling consequences for their future development and undermine our efforts to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

6. Way forward: There is need for countries to capture economic losses which can help in disaster mitigation, saving lives and livelihoods.