Natural disasters displaced three times as many people as war last year – even as 2013 was a horrific year for conflict – with 22 million people driven out of their homes by floods, hurricanes and other hazards, a new study has found.
Twice as many people now lose their homes to disaster as in the 1970s, and more people move into harm’s way each year, the study by the Norwegian Refugee Council found.
“Basically, the combination of mega natural disasters and hundreds of smaller natural disasters massively displaces people in many more countries than the countries that have war and conflict,” said Jan Egeland, the secretary of the Norwegian refugee council.
He said he hoped the findings would prod leaders meeting at a United Nations climate summit next week to work to protect populations from more disaster-prone future under climate change.
Last year was in some ways an anomaly because so many people were driven out of their homes by war. In some years, 10 times as many people lose their homes to natural disasters. “Natural disasters are underestimated as a scourge that is hitting tens of millions of people every year,” Egeland said.
On average, 27 million people a year lost their homes to natural disasters over the last decade. In 2010, that number rose to 42 million.
While mega-disasters such as the devastating typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines attract international attention, the losses due to smaller-scale storms and flooding often go unrecorded.
Natural disasters displaced three times as many people as war last year – even as 2013 was a horrific year for conflict – with 22 million people driven out of their homes by floods, hurricanes and other hazards, a new study has found.
Twice as many people now lose their homes to disaster as in the 1970s, and more people move into harm’s way each year, the study by the Norwegian Refugee Council found.
“Basically, the combination of mega natural disasters and hundreds of smaller natural disasters massively displaces people in many more countries than the countries that have war and conflict,” said Jan Egeland, the secretary of the Norwegian refugee council.
He said he hoped the findings would prod leaders meeting at a United Nations climate summit next week to work to protect populations from more disaster-prone future under climate change.
Last year was in some ways an anomaly because so many people were driven out of their homes by war. In some years, 10 times as many people lose their homes to natural disasters. “Natural disasters are underestimated as a scourge that is hitting tens of millions of people every year,” Egeland said.
On average, 27 million people a year lost their homes to natural disasters over the last decade. In 2010, that number rose to 42 million.
While mega-disasters such as the devastating typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines attract international attention, the losses due to smaller-scale storms and flooding often go unrecorded.
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