Skip to main content

UNDRR Logo

Knowledge

  • Global Assessment Report (GAR)
  • PreventionWeb

Special Events

  • Global Platform
  • International Day for Disaster Reduction
  • World Tsunami Awareness Day

Tools

  • Sendai Framework Monitor
  • Voluntary Commitments

UNDRR

  • UNDRR Africa
  • UNDRR Americas
  • UNDRR Arab States
  • UNDRR Asia-Pacific
  • UNDRR Europe
  • Home
  • About UNDRR
    About us
    As the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, UNDRR convenes partners and coordinates activities to create safer, more resilient communities.
    Learn more

    We Mega Menu - About us

    • Our work
    • Our impact
    • Where we work
    • Funding
    • History
    • Work with us

    We Mega Menu - About us 2

    • Where we work
      • Africa
      • Americas & Caribbean
      • Arab States
      • Asia & Pacific
      • Europe & Central Asia
    • Liaison and sub-regional offices
      • Bonn Office
      • Kobe Liasion Office
      • New York Liasion Office
      • Office for North East Asia and Global Education and Training Institute
      • Suva Sub-regional Office
  • Implementing the Sendai Framework
    The Sendai Framework
    is the global roadmap for reducing human and economic loss as a direct result of disasters.
    Learn more

    We Mega menu - Sendai Framework 1

    • What is the Sendai Framework?
    • Voluntary Commitments
    • The Sendai Framework in action
    • Training
    • The Sendai Framework and the SDGs
    • Global Platform for DRR
    • Regional platforms

    We Mega menu - Sendai Framework 2

    • Partnerships
      • Partners and stakeholders
      • Initiatives
  • News & events
    News & events
    UNDRR organizes the Global, Regional and National Platforms on Disaster Risk Reduction and facilitates training workshops around the world.
    Learn more

    We Mega Menu - News & Events

    • Latest news
    • Media centre
    • Event calendar
    • DRR platforms
    • International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction
    • World Tsunami Awareness Day
    • Awards

    We Mega Menu - News & Events 2

    • Global Platform for DRR
    • Regional Platforms
      • Africa
      • Americas & Caribbean
      • Arab States
      • Asia & Pacific
      • Europe & Central Asia
  • Building Risk Knowledge
    Knowledge
    We provide tools such as the DRR Community site PreventionWeb, publications on good practices, and the Global Assessment Report (GAR)
    Learn more

    We Mega menu - Knowledge 1

    • Understanding risk
    • Global Risk Analysis and Reporting
    • DRR community
      • PreventionWeb
      • International Recovery Platform

    We Mega menu - Knowledge 2

    • Global Assessment Report
    • DESINVENTAR
    • UNDRR publications
    • UN resolutions & reports
    • Terminology
  1. publication
  2. Documents and publications

The human cost of disasters: an overview of the last 20 years (2000-2019)


Documents and publications
Source
Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters
United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction
Publication Year
2020
Number of pages
30 p.

UNDRR report published to mark the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction on October 13, 2020, confirms how extreme weather events have come to dominate the disaster landscape in the 21st century. The statistics in this report are from the Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) maintained by the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) which records disasters which have killed ten or more people; affected 100 or more people; resulted in a declared state of emergency, or a call for international assistance.

In the period 2000 to 2019, there were 7,348 major recorded disaster events claiming 1.23 million lives, affecting 4.2 billion people (many on more than one occasion) resulting in approximately US$2.97 trillion in global economic losses. 

This is a sharp increase over the previous twenty years. Between 1980 and 1999, 4,212 disasters were linked to natural hazards worldwide claiming approximately 1.19 million lives and affecting 3.25 billion people resulting in approximately US$1.63 trillion in economic losses.

Much of the difference is explained by a rise in climate-related disasters including extreme weather events: from 3,656 climate-related events (1980-1999) to 6,681 climate-related disasters in the period 2000-2019.

The last twenty years have seen the number of major floods more than double, from 1,389 to 3,254, while the incidence of storms grew from 1,457 to 2,034. Floods and storms were the most prevalent events.

The report “The Human Cost of Disasters 2000-2019” also records major increases in other categories including drought, wildfires, and extreme temperature events. There has also been a rise in geophysical events including earthquakes and tsunamis which have killed more people than any of the other natural hazards under review in this report.

Share this
Go back
Also featured on

PreventionWeb

Download
Download file
Related information
Related links
UN report: Dramatic rise in climate disaster over last twenty years
UNDRR Asia-Pacific COVID-19 brief: The human rights dimensions of the covid-19 pandemic
UNDRR Asia-Pacific COVID-19 brief: Business resilience in the face of COVID-19
International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction
Keywords
Themes
Advocacy & Media
Economics of DRR
Governance

Stay in touch

Sign up for UNDRR updates

UNDRR Tools

  • Making Cities Resilient
  • PreventionWeb
  • Sendai Framework Monitor
  • Voluntary Commitments

Contact us

Sendai Framework

© UNDRR

Footer

  • Fraud Alert
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Sustainable Development Goals Logo