The number of weather-related disasters has quadrupled over the past 20 years
Posted by JAC on 4/30/2010, 7:13 am
The number of weather-related disasters has quadrupled over the past 20 years and the world should do more to prepare for them, the aid agency Oxfam says.

Population increases mean more people are affected when catastrophic weather events take place, it says in a report.

Global warming is to blame for the growing number of weather disasters, Oxfam adds.

An average of 500 such disasters are now taking place each year, compared to 120 in the 1980s, the report says.

The number of floods has increased six-fold over the same period.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7111623.stm





Sources:
1. Oxfam International "From Weather Alert to Climate Alarm." November 2007.
2. International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies "World Disaster Reports 2004-6." Graph reproduced with permission from the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR) "Disaster Risk Reduction: Global Review 2007" http://www.preventionweb.net/english/hyogo/gar/global-review;
data from EM-DAT:
The OFDA/CRED International Disaster Database http://www.em-dat.net
and analysis by P. Peduzzi, UN/ISDR.
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The number of weather-related disasters has quadrupled over the past 20 years - JAC, 4/30/2010, 7:13 am
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