UN: Natural disasters have killed 2 million people in the past 50 years

Natural disasters (cataclysms related to weather and climate) from 1970 to 2021 led to the death of two million people.

During this time, 11.7 thousand natural disasters occurred, which caused damage in the amount of $4.3 trillion, AFP reports, citing the UN World Meteorological Service.

At the same time, every decade, the average annual death rate due to natural disasters is decreasing, but economic losses, on the contrary, are growing - most of them are associated with the consequences of storms.

Most deaths due to natural disasters occur in Asia - 47 per cent - mainly due to tropical cyclones. In 2008, Cyclone Nargis killed 138,000 people. Most people die due to natural disasters in Bangladesh: there 281 cataclysms led to the death of 520 thousand people.

According to the UN, more than 90 per cent of recorded deaths due to natural disasters occurred in developing countries. At the same time, 60 per cent of economic losses as a result of disasters were registered in countries with developed economies. In the US alone, natural disasters have caused $1.7 trillion in damage — 39 per cent of global economic losses in 51 years.