Water and Disasters

Facts and Figures

## Around 74% of all natural disasters between 2001 and 2018 were water-related and during the past 20 years, the total number of deaths caused only by floods and droughts exceeded 166,000, while floods and droughts affected over three billion people, and caused total economic damage of almost US$700 billion. (UN WWDR, 2020).

## Droughts accounted for 5% of natural disasters, affecting 1.1 billion people, killing 22,000, and causing US$100 billion in damage between 1995 and 2015. (UNISDR, 2015)

## For the 68.5 million people who have been forced to flee their homes, accessing safe water services is highly problematic. (UNHCR, 2017)

## 700 million people worldwide could be displaced by intense water scarcity by 2030. (Global Water Institute, 2013)

## Since 1900, more than 11 million people have died as a consequence of drought and more than 2 billion have been affected by drought, more than any other physical hazard. (FAO 2013)

## By 2050, rising populations in floodprone lands, climate change, deforestation, loss of wetlands and rising sea levels are expected to increase the number of people vulnerable to flood disaster to 2 billion. (UNESCO, 2012)


When disaster strikes, it usually manifests itself through water. Floods, landslides, tsunamis, storms, heat waves, cold spells, droughts and waterborne disease outbreaks are all becoming more frequent and more intense.

The impacts and costs of these events are exacerbated by such factors as unplanned urbanization and degradation of ecosystem services. Reducing risk to, and improving the resilience of, water and sanitation services will be key to maintaining access during a climatically uncertain future.
A woman walks through a flooded market in Port au Prince. Hurricane Sandy passed to the west of Haiti October 25, 2012 causing heavy rains and winds, flooding homes and overflowing rivers. Photo Logan Abassi UN/MINUSTAH

Water-related disasters pose both direct impacts (e.g. damage to buildings, crops and infrastructure, and loss of life and property) and indirect impacts (e.g. losses in productivity and livelihoods, increased investment risk, indebtedness and human health impacts).

The increasing economic cost and toll of disasters should be a significant incentive for governments and humanitarian organizations to focus more attention on preparedness, prevention and addressing the root causes of vulnerability.
Children displaced by flooding in South Sudan collect water from a submerged hand pump. Photo UNMIS

Children displaced by flooding in South Sudan collect water from a submerged hand pump. Photo UNMIS
Opportunities
Meeting the challenges associated with water-related disasters requires investment in and implementation of good disaster risk-reduction. Despite improvements in preventive efforts, scaling these up to meet current and future needs remains a central challenge.
Find outmore from:

Global Framework for Climate Services Office: Associated Programme on Flood Management
Global Framework for Climate Services Office: International Drought Management Programme
Global Water Institute (2013): Future water (in)security: facts, figures and predictions
UN Environment: Water-related disasters
UNESCO: Water-related disasters
UNHCR (2017): Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2017
UNISDR (2015): The human cost of weather related disasters
UN World Water Development Report 2020: Water and Climate Change
WMO: Disaster Risk Reduction Programme