A scandal in the storm
All disasters, natural or human-made, have one thing in common; their capacity to maim, cause unmentionable misery, and loss of property and lives. But there is a twist in the tale. The World Disaster Report, 1994, published by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Socities, suggests that the havoc can be controlled. Often, it is the improper dissemination or censorship of information by the powers-that-be which exacerbates the suffering of the people.
| Wrack and ruin Number of disasters triggered by natural causes, by region and type, 1993 | ||||||
| Africa | America | Asia | Europe | Oceania | Total | |
| Drought & Famine | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Volcano | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| High Wind | 4 | 17 | 23 | 8 | 6 | 58 |
| Landslide | 0 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Flood | 4 | 19 | 25 | 8 | 1 | 57 |
| Earthquake | 1 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 17 |
| Other* | 2 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 11 |
| The price of vulnerability Estimation of the costs of damage caused by natural disasters, 1988-92 (in $ million) | ||||||
| Earthquake | 67,034 | |||||
| Drought & Famine | 11,342 | |||||
| Flood | 8,674 | |||||
| Landslide | 29.9 | |||||
| High Wind | 49,316 | |||||
| Volcano | 83.3 | |||||
| Other* | 1,109 | |||||
| * includes: cold wave, heat wave, insect infestation, tsunami | ||||||
| Counting calamities Number of disasters due to non-natural causes, by region and type, 1993 | ||||||
| Africa | America | Asia | Europe | Oceania | Total | |
| Accident | 3 | 3 | 16 | 10 | 0 | 32 |
| Industrial accident | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Fire | 0 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| Conflict | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Catastrophe economics Estimation of losses incurred due to non-natural disasters, 1988-92 (in $ million) | ||||||
| Accident | 2,449 | |||||
| Industrial accident | 474 | |||||
| Fire | 712 | |||||
| Displaced people | 2 | |||||
| Conflict | 2,188 | |||||
| When calamities sweep the earth Today, some 250 million people are affected in an ever-mounting spiral of disasters | |
| Year | Number of disaster affected people |
| 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 | 11,047,904 28,981,406 5,680,571 47,485,048 40,445,109 14,137,334 227,121,061 43,471,600 42,632,028 271,135 25,755,722 109,335,442 220,783,204 94,115,471 33,756,865 272,759,375 292,955,799 99,489,539 43,913,036 42,789,783 376,879,839 220,764,909 192,276,076 124,148,628 319,227,321 90,321,014 175,093,174 |
| Source: World Disaster Report, 1994 | |