Thirty Years of Natural Disasters 1974-2003: The Numbers

Over the last 30 years, 6,367 natural disasters killed more than 2 million people. A cumulative total of 5.1 billion individuals were affected, of which 182 million were left homeless.These same disasters caused US$1.4 trillion worth of damages. Data on natural disasters and their impact on populations and economies play an essential role in understanding the factors that increase human vulnerability and the importance of disaster preparedness, mitigation and prevention.