Avian Flu Diary: CRED: Global Natural Disasters 2018

#14,146

While hundreds of natural disasters occur around the world every year, some years are definitely worse than others. In 2010, the Haitian Earthquake alone claimed over 200,000 lives, as did Indonesia's Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004.

Without warning, an earthquake, tsunami, or volcanic explosion can impact millions of people. Wildfires, floods and droughts - while slower moving - can be equally devastating.

Luckily - at least compared with the 10 years that came before it, 2018 was a below-average year both in terms of lives lost, and economic losses. But even so, millions were affected, thousands died, and billions were lost (see graphic below).

https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/CREDNaturalDisaster2018.pdf

Tracking the impacts, and the variability, in natural disasters around the world is The Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED), which has released an 8-page Report 2018's events, told primarily through infographics.

From their Executive Summary

In 2018, there were 315 natural disaster events recorded with 11,804 deaths, over 68 million people affected, and US$131.7 billion 1 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%. Given Asia’s large land mass, higher population relative to other continents, and multiple hazard risks, the results are not surprising.

In relation to the previous decade (2008-2017), in 2018 there were fewer disasters compared to the annual average of 348 events, fewer deaths compared to the annual average of 67,572, fewer number of people affected compared to the annual average of 198.8 million people affected, and lower economic losses compared to the annual average of $166.7 billion.

This decrease is due to the lack of massive disaster events such as the 2010 earthquake in Haiti (222,500 deaths); the 2015/2016 drought in India (330 million people affected); and the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami ($210 billion in damages). The deadliest events in 2018 occurred in Indonesia with the earthquake in September leaving 4,340 people dead or missing, followed by another earthquake in August which left 564 dead or missing.

(Continue . . . )

Although the world got off relatively lucky last year - if you were in the path of Hurricane Michael, or rocked by one of Indonesia's big quakes, or devastated by the floods in India - you might not feel so fortunate.

Even a `light' year carries with it a heavy toll.

First a quick look at a few of the infographics in today's report (follow the link to read it in its entirety), then I'll return with more.

First a comparison of 2018 vs the 10 year average.

Second, while the United States wasn't the worst affected country, it did see the greatest economic losses.

According to this report:

Georeferenced disasters

Globally, 3.9 billion people, or about half the worldwide population, were potentially exposed to natural disasters in 2018. When counting if a region was affected by multiple disasters, this number jumps to 10.7 billion people.

And 2018 was a below-average year. While we may get lucky again in 2019, over time the scales will balance, and at some point we'll see another very bad year. Perhaps on par with 2004, 2010, and 2011.

Or worse.

California, and the Pacific Northwest, are overdue for a major earthquake as is the American Midwest. Mega-cities, like Tokyo and Karachi lie on or near major fault lines. Iceland, Italy, and Indonesia are home to some of the most active volcanoes in the world.

Droughts, heatwaves, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes and wild fires are all reminders that we live on a sometimes violent, and unpredictable planet, and that bad things can happen anywhere, anytime, and to anyone.

All reasons why I urge everyone to prepare themselves, their families, and their workplaces to deal with disasters, and why agencies like FEMA and Ready.gov constantly urge citizen preparedness.

A little over a month ago, in 7 Days Without A Disaster Kit Makes One Weak, we looked at the recently revised advice from Floridadisaster.org, which now recommends preparing for a minimum of a 7 days without outside help.I'm sure they wouldn't be unhappy to see you extend that to 14 days.

Disaster Supply Kit

Ensure you and your family are prepared before the next disaster impacts your community. Following an emergency or disaster, you may lose access to basic services, such as power and water, and be subject to limited or no access to essentials like food and water. With that in mind, stock up on essentials now and build a disaster supply kit to last you and your family for a minimum of 7 days.

Each individual or family disaster supply kit will differ based on personal needs. Review the list below to help you get started on basic items to include in your kit. Assess your individual and family needs to determine other critical items to include.

Floridadisaster.org goes on to list the items you will need, but in a nutshell:

We'll look at disaster preparedness in greater depth during the month of September, in concert with National Preparedness Month, but you can revisit some of my past efforts by clicking THIS LINK.

While I don't recommend you lie awake at night worrying about the next potential disaster, every home should be at least minimally prepared to deal with one if it happens.

So . . . if a disaster struck your region today, and the power went out, stores closed their doors, and water stopped flowing from your kitchen tap for the next 7 to 14 days . . . do you already have:

A battery operated NWS Emergency Radio to find out what was going on, and to get vital instructions from emergency officials
A decent first-aid kit, so that you can treat injuries
Enough non-perishable food and water on hand to feed and hydrate your family (including pets) for the duration
A way to provide light when the grid is down.
A way to cook safely without electricity
A way to purify or filter water
A way to stay cool (fans) or warm when the power is out.
A small supply of cash to use in case credit/debit machines are not working
An emergency plan, including meeting places, emergency out-of-state contact numbers, a disaster buddy, and in case you must evacuate, a bug-out bag
Spare supply of essential prescription medicines that you or your family may need
A way to entertain yourself, or your kids, during a prolonged blackout

If your answer is `no’, you have some work to do. A good place to get started is by visiting Ready.gov.

Some other preparedness resources you might want to revisit include: