October 13 this year marks the 34th International Day for Disaster Reduction, and the Global Natural Disaster Assessment Report 2022 was officially released. The report shows that global levels of natural disasters were generally low in 2022 compared to the average of the past 30 years (1992-2021). Among them, the most frequent floods in the world, 14% more than the historical average. Storms caused the most direct economic losses, with extreme temperatures causing the largest number of deaths, at 16,416.
The report was prepared by the Ministry of Emergency Management-Ministry of Education Academy of Disaster Reduction and Emergency Management, the School of National Security and Emergency Management of Beijing Normal University, the National Disaster Reduction Center of the Ministry of Emergency Management, and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
Last year, extreme temperatures caused a large number of deaths and floods were the most frequent
The assessment report is divided into a main report and a thematic report. The main report includes the overview, characteristics, pattern and global position of global natural disasters in China in 2022; The three special reports focused on natural disasters in China in 2022, the overview and loss characteristics of global climate extremes from 2000 to 2022, and the composite disasters of high temperature and drought in the Yangtze River Basin in 2022.
According to the report, in 2022, a total of 321 major natural disasters (excluding epidemic diseases) occurred in the world, affecting 118 countries and regions, causing a total of 30,759 deaths and direct economic losses of US$223.837 billion.
Compared with the average of the past 30 years (1992-2021), the global level of natural disasters is generally low, with 3% less frequency of disasters, 38% fewer deaths, 4% less affected population, and 53% more direct economic losses.
Among them, the frequency of extreme temperatures in the world in 2022 was low, but it caused the largest number of deaths, reaching 16,416; Floods were the most frequent, with 163 disasters, 14% more than the historical average (referring to the average value from 1992 to 2021, the same below), and caused 8,049 deaths, 20% more than the historical average; Storm disasters caused the largest direct economic losses, about $131 billion, 106% more than the historical average.
The number of seismic activities has increased, but the number of deaths has decreased; Wildfire deaths are reduced, and direct economic losses are 77% lower than historically; The number of landslides has decreased, causing 54% fewer deaths than the historical average and affecting 50% less people.
Regionally, Asia had the highest frequency of natural disasters in 2022, followed by Africa; Europe is the continent with the largest number of deaths due to disasters, followed by Asia; North America suffered the highest direct economic losses due to disasters, followed by Asia; Developing countries are more severely affected by natural disasters than developed countries, with floods and storms primarily affected.
Top 10 countries in the world in terms of frequency and loss of natural disasters in 2022. Screenshot of the report
Last year, the number of deaths among China's million people was at a low level in the world
In 2022, various natural disasters caused a total of 112 million people in China, 554 people died and disappeared, and direct economic losses reached 238.65 billion yuan.
According to the report, in 2022, natural disasters in China were mainly floods, droughts, hailstorms, earthquakes and geological disasters, while typhoons, low-temperature freezing and snow disasters, sandstorms, forest and grassland fires and marine disasters also occurred to varying degrees.
Affected by extreme weather events, major disasters such as floods in the Pearl River Basin, the breaking of the Yanghe River in tributaries of the Liaohe River, flash floods in Datong in Qinghai and Pingwu and Beichuan in Sichuan, droughts in summer, autumn and winter in the Yangtze River Basin, and forest fires in the southern region have occurred. Throughout the year, various natural disasters caused a total of 112 million people to be affected, 554 people died and disappeared, 2.428 million people were urgently evacuated and resettled, 47,000 houses collapsed and 796,000 were damaged to varying degrees, 12,071.6 thousand hectares of crops were affected, and 238.65 billion yuan were directly lost.
In 2022, drought disasters accounted for the highest proportion (46.6%) of China's population affected by various natural disasters. Among the deaths and disappearances caused by various natural disasters, floods accounted for the highest proportion (30.9%); Among the direct economic losses caused by various natural disasters, floods also accounted for the highest proportion (54.0%).
Top 10 natural disaster events in China in 2022. Screenshot of the report
In 2022, more than 50 people died and disappeared due to disasters in Sichuan, Qinghai and Yunnan provinces, ranking among the top three in the country; Among them, Sichuan is the only province where more than 100 people have disappeared due to the disaster.
From the perspective of the relationship between the number of deaths due to disasters and the level of economic development, the number of deaths due to disasters in China in 2022 basically matches the level of economic development, and the number of deaths due to disasters of one million people is at a low level in the world. Compared with countries with similar levels of economic aggregates, the United States (1.48) and Japan (0.89) both had higher deaths per million people than China.
In terms of countries with comparable GDP per capita to China, Russia (0.16) and Chile (0.15) have lower deaths per million people than China, while Malaysia (1.49) has higher deaths per million people than China.
From 2000 to 2022, extreme climate events worldwide affected 6.21 billion people
The report also analyzes the characteristics of global climate extremes from 2000 to 2022, and finds that the number of deaths in Asia, Europe and Africa is typical of extreme characteristics, and the annual direct economic losses caused by climate extremes show an upward trend globally.
From 2000 to 2022, 652 global climate extremes caused a total of 6.21 billion people to be affected worldwide, with 1.837 million casualties (including 510,000 deaths and 1.327 million injuries), and direct economic losses of more than US$3.27 trillion.
In terms of disaster types, extreme drought caused the largest number of victims, exceeding 2.3 billion, accounting for 37.1% of the total number of people affected by extreme climate events in the world. Tropical cyclones and extreme heat caused the largest number of deaths, both exceeding 150,000, 181,000 and 168,000, respectively, accounting for 35.5% and 33% of the total number of deaths from extreme climate events in the world. Tropical cyclones caused the highest damage at $1,527 billion, accounting for 46.7% of the total direct economic losses from extreme weather events in the world, almost equal to the direct economic losses caused by all other hazards combined.
Regionally, up to 3.46 billion people were affected in Asia, more than all other regions combined, accounting for 56% of the world's total climate extremes affected; Asia's catastrophic deaths were 223,400, accounting for 43.8% of the world's deaths from extreme climate events, almost equal to the combined number of deaths in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Oceania. The Americas had the largest direct economic losses at $1,932.9 billion, accounting for 59% of the total direct economic losses from global extreme climate events, followed by Asia with $931.3 billion (29%), which accounted for 88% of the global total.
It is understood that 2023 is the year of the mid-term review of the United Nations Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, and a deep understanding of natural disasters and their losses in China and the world is essential to promote the implementation of this international strategy.
This is the fourth year that mainland agencies have produced such reports, and this series of reports will continue to make positive contributions to promoting the mainland's natural disaster risk assessment and emergency management, providing the international community with scientific and authoritative China's disaster data, and better serving global disaster prevention, mitigation and relief.
Beijing News reporter Zhan Shengjie
Edited by Bai Shuang Proofread by Li Lijun