Natural Disaster Facts That Might Surprise You!
09 Jan 2020
Nobody wants to be in the middle of a disaster and we hope that you are taking the necessary precautions to prepare for such. 2019 was a year full of disasters that have shaped the way we as a country react. We have found new and better ways to prepare for when one does strike. Check out these disaster facts so that you can have a better understanding on how disasters have affected us around the world.
- Between 2000 and 2012, natural disasters caused $1.7 trillion in damage and affected 2.9 billion people.
- Over 1/2 of the victims of both Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy were senior citizens over the age of 65. Work with seniors to create an emergency plan in case of a disaster. This blog is a tool intended to help everyone no matter where you are located, no matter how old you are and no matter if you prepared or not. This is designed to help those all over the world to be ready, not scared.
- Floods are the most widespread natural disaster aside from wildfires. 90% of all US natural disasters declared by the president involve some sort of flooding.
- Natural disasters kill on average 60,000 people per year, globally. Disasters were responsible for 0.1% of deaths over the past decade. This was highly variable, ranging from 0.01% to 0.4%. Historically, droughts and floods were the most fatal disaster events.
- All 50 states and 5 U.S. territories are at some risk for earthquakes. Earthquakes can happen at any time of the year and occur without warning. Earthquakes can also cause tsunamis.
- In 2018, there were 315 natural disaster events recorded with 11,804 deaths, over 68 million people affected, and US$131.7 billion in economic losses across the world. The burden was not shared equally as Asia suffered the highest impact and accounted for 45% of disaster events, 80% of deaths, and 76% of people affected. Globally, Indonesia recorded nearly half the total deaths (47%), while India recorded the highest number of people affected (35%). Earthquakes were the deadliest type of disaster accounting for 45% of deaths, followed by flooding at 24%. Flooding affected the highest number of people, accounting for 50% of the total affected, followed by storms which accounted for 28%.