Quantifying Global Environmental Change Impacts: Methods, Criteria and Definitions for Compiling Data on Hydro-meteorological Disasters

The world is confronted with the impact of natural disasters on human lives and livelihoods on a tremendous scale. These disasters affected 184 million people globally each year, on average, between 1980 and 2008, with a range of 28 million to 661 million. The annual loss of nearly 74,000 human lives occurred on average during this same period, with a range of 10,000 to 460,000. During 2008, 1 out of 31 persons worldwide was affected by natural disasters. Climaterelated disasters caused 45,000 deaths each year and affected 178 million people, on average, between 1980 and 2008.