Better Disaster Data Enables Better Decisions

Weather, climate, and water-related disasters are on the rise worldwide, causing loss of life and setting back economic and social development by years, if not decades.  From 1970 to 2012, 8,835 disasters, 1.94 million deaths, and $2.4 trillion of economic losses were reported globally as a result of hazards such as droughts, extreme temperatures, floods, tropical cyclones, and related health epidemics, according to a new report.

The Atlas of Mortality and Economic Losses from Weather, Climate and Water Extremes 1970-2012 describes the distribution and impacts of weather, climate, and water-related disasters and highlights measures to increase resilience.  It is a joint publication of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) of the Catholic University of Louvain (UCL) in Belgium.

The Atlas aims to provide decision-makers with actionable information for protecting life and property.

It is also highlights the need for stronger efforts to report, standardize, and analyze data on weather, climate, and water-related hazards to improve understanding of disasters and reinforce the platform for prevention.

Better Disaster Data Enables Better Decisions