The number of natural disasters reported globally has increased considerably over the past three decades (Figure 1). Every year, disasters related to meteorological, hydrological and climate hazards cause significant loss of life, and set back economic and social development by years, if not decades. Between 1980 and 2005, nearly 7500 natural disasters worldwide took the lives of more than 2 million people and produced economic losses estimated at over USD 1.2 trillion. Hazards related to weather, climate or water - such as droughts, floods, windstorms, tropical cyclones, storm surges, extreme temperatures, landslides and wildfires - or health epidemics and insect infestations directly linked to meteorological and hydrological conditions caused 90 per cent of these natural disasters, around 73 per cent of the casualties and 75 per cent of the economic losses.
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