NATURAL DISASTER DATABOOK 2021

7.

Natural Disaster Databook 2021

ADRC publishes the Natural Disaster Databook annually to provide statistical and analytical perspectives ofnatural disaster data. ADRC retrieves data from the Emergency Event Database (EM-DAT) in order to better
understand the occurrence, deaths, people affected, and economic losses from disaster events (See Annex
3: Notes on the Sources of Data). The analytical overview, presented in graphs with explanations, is divided
into three key sections:·

In Section 7.1, natural disaster data of 2021 is compared with the annual average data of 1991-2020
both at the Global level and at the regional level (Asia)·

In Section 7.2, climate-related disaster data of 2021 is compared with the annual average data of 19912020 both at the Global level and at the regional level (Asia)·

In Section 7.3, COVID-19 situations at the global level and in the ADRC member countries arepresented to show the cumulative data of confirmed cases and deaths

Based on the data from EM-DAT, the number of disaster occurrences has significantly increased during thelast 30 years (1991-2020). This increasing trend is observed globally and in the Asian region. In 2021, thetotal of disaster occurrences was 436, which is higher than the annual average of 376 during the last 30
years. Flood and storm have consistently shown the highest frequency of occurrence and subsequently withthe highest amounts of economic losses. Although the frequency of disaster occurrences has been
increasing, the number of deaths from disasters is decreasing. Existing data shows that deaths fromdisasters in 2021 is 14,442. This is lesser compared to the annual average of 61,086 during the past 30
years (1991-2020). Two implications can be highlighted about this data. On one hand, it could indicate thatthe disaster risk management (DRM) systems have improved. On the other hand, it could imply that lower
deaths in 2021 is simply due to the absence of mass casualty events similar to the India Ocean Tsunami(2004) or the Great East Japan Earthquake (2011). In 2021, economic losses from disasters continued toshow an increasing trend, and this is hugely concentrated in high-income or developed countries, such as2021, the region recorded the highest number of disaster occurrences, particularly in Indonesia (28), Indian(19), China (17), and the Philippines (14).
Regarding climate-related disasters, the data shows an increasing trend during the last 30 years, and its
impacts are becoming more destructive. In 2021 alone, extreme cold waves (e.g., France in April) and heatwaves (e.g., Canada in July) were recorded in many parts of the world. Climate-related disasters, particularly

flood, storm, and drought, account for the highest number of people affected as well as economic losses in
2021 – a continuing trend since the last 30 years. With regard to climate-related disasters in Asia in 2021,
aside from heat wave, India was severely impacted by floods and cyclones affecting more than 18 million
people. Bangladesh and Nepal were hit by floods that impacted millions of people. Floods affected 14 million
people in China and over 1 million people in Indonesia. Furthermore, drought has been affecting millions ofpeople during the past 30 years, and it incurred economic losses affecting more than 28 million people in
Asia in 2021 alone.
Regarding COVID-19 situation, the data shows declining trends both in the number of cases and the numberof deaths globally. The peak was in January 2022 when 23,201,079 cases were recorded during the winter

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the United States or Japan. Asian remains to be the most disaster-prone region in the world such that in

NATURAL DISASTER DATABOOK 2021

at northern hemisphere. COVID-19 cases and deaths in ADRC member countries also showed a declining
trend. Factors contributing to the decline could be attributed to increasing rate of vaccination, weaker strainof the virus, and improvement in the medical system for handing COVID-19 cases.

7.1

Natural Disaster Data

Using the data from EM-DAT/CRED, UC Louvain, Brussels, Belgium (www.emdat.be) retrieved on 7 July
2022, this section presents the trends in natural disasters both at the global and at the regional (Asia) levels.
At each level, disaster impacts are analyzed in terms of occurrence, death tolls, people affected, andeconomic losses.

7.1.1

Global Disaster Data

Globally,

there

increasing

has

trend

of

been

an

disasteroccurrence since 1900 (Figure 7.1).
Compared with the frequency ofdisaster occurrence in the 1960s withthe present trend, the frequency ofdisasteroccurrence

increases

asmuch as tenfold. Some of the key
determinants for this increasing trend
are population growth and economic

development (See Annex 4: Key
Determinants).
Figure 7.1 Trend of disaster occurrence 1900-2020(EM-DAT/CRED, 2022)

Section 7

In 2021, the Asian region exhibited the highest number of disaster occurrences at 40% of the total global
occurrences. This figure indicates that Asia remains to be the most disaster-prone region in the worldconsidering that in the last 30 years (1991-2020), the region accounted for 39% of the total disasteroccurrences (Figure 7.2).

Figure 7.2 Disaster occurrence data by region 2021 vs 1991-2020(EM-DAT/CRED, 2022)

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NATURAL DISASTER DATABOOK 2021·

Occurrence

Around the world, EM-DAT recorded a total of 436 natural
disaster occurrences in 2021. This number is higher
compared with the annual average of 376 disasteroccurrence during the last 30 years (Figure 7.3). In
particular, flood and storm have consistently shown thehighest frequency of occurrence in 2021 and during thelast 30 years. Among the most devastating flood andstorm events in 2021 were: 1) floods in Maharashtra

State, western India, from June to September 2021; 2)heavy flooding in Henan Province, China from 16-20 July
2021; 3) massive flash floods, triggered by heavy rain, in
Kamdesh District, Nuristan Province, Afghanistan in July
2021; and 4) Typhoon Rai (local name: Odette) insoutheastern part of the Philippines on 16 December
2021.

Figure 7.3 Global disaster occurrence 2021 vs 1991-2020(EM-DAT/CRED, 2022)·

DeathsAs shown in Figure 7.4, the total number of people whodied from disasters in 2021 is 14,442. This number islesser compared to the annual average of 61,086 people
Section 7

who died from disasters during the past 30 years (19912020). Two implications can be highlighted about thisdata. On one hand, since the number of deaths fromdisasters is getting lesser (despite the fact that the numberof disaster events is increasing) could indicate that thedisaster risk management (DRM) systems may have

improved. On the other hand, it could mean that the
number of deaths in 2021 is lesser simply because there
were no mass casualty events similar to the HanshinAwaji Earthquake (1995), the Indian Ocean Tsunami(2004), and the Great East Japan Earthquake (2011) that
occurred during the previous 30 years. However, it should
be noted that deaths by wildfire and volcanic eruption are

Figure 7.4 Global number of deaths by disaster type
(EM-DAT/CRED, 2022)

not decreasing as other hazards, indicating that the challengesof reducing the number of deaths is still there.

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NATURAL DISASTER DATABOOK 2021·

People AffectedOverall, the number of people affected by disasters in
2021 is lesser compared to the annual average of the last
30 years (Figure 7.5). It is likely due to the fact that there
were more large-scale disasters that occurred during thelast 30 years than in 2021. The trend shows that annually,
more and more people are affected by flood, drought, andstorm. Usually, the locations of people who are highly
vulnerable to these climate-related hazards are hugely
concentrated in low and middle-income countries – that
often have limited capacities for disaster risk reduction(DRR). In particular, drought (which is a slow onset
disaster) has been affecting about 57 million people
annually since the last 30 years, and still continuallyaffecting low-income countries in 2021.
Figure 7.5 Global number of people affected by disaster type
(EM-DAT/CRED, 2022)·

Economic Losses

Economic losses from disasters in 2021 are higher
compared to the annual average of economic losses in
the last 30 years (Figure 7.6). EM-DAT data indicates that
Section 7

the

huge

economiclossesfrom

disasters

areconcentrated in high-income or developed countries (e.g.,
Japan and United States) due to massive destructions ininfrastructures and properties, which subsequently resultin business interruption losses.

Figure 7.6 Global economic losses(EM-DAT/CRED, 2022)

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7.1.2

Asian Disaster Data

Recognizing that Asia is the most disaster-prone region in the world, ADRC specifically highlights disasterdata from this region. In 2021, the top 10 countries in Asia with the highest number of disaster occurrences,include: Indonesia (28), India (19), China (17), and the Philippines (14) among others (Figure 7.7).

Figure 7.7 Top ten countries in Asia with high disaster occurrence in 2021
(EM-DAT/CRED, 2022)·

Occurrence

Disaster occurrence in Asia in 2021 is recorded at 175.
This number is higher compared with the annual average
Section 7

of disaster occurrences during the last 30 years (Figure7.8). Disaster types that have increasing frequency ofoccurrences are flood, storm, and earthquake. In 2021
alone, seven earthquakes with magnitude 7 or above had
occurred in Asia, including the earthquake that hit Davao
Oriental in the Philippines on 12 August 2021 ofmagnitude 7.1.

Figure 7.8 Disaster occurrence in Asia
(EM-DAT/CRED, 2022)

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NATURAL DISASTER DATABOOK 2021·

DeatheIn terms of the number of people killed by disasters, datain Asia showed that lesser people died from disaster in
2021 compared to the annual average of the last 30 years(Figure 7.9). This is consistent with the global trend
showing that while the number of disaster occurrences isincreasing, the number of people killed from thosedisasters is decreasing. This implies that countries in Asia
may

have

relatively

improved

theirdisasterriskmanagement systems. With regard to the disaster typethat caused more deaths, the data shows that flood,storm, and earthquake caused massive casualties.

Figure 7.9 People killed by disaster type in Asia
(EM-DAT/CRED, 2022)·

People AffectedCompared with the annual average number of people
affected by disasters in the last 30 years (1991-2020), thenumber of people affected by disasters in Asia in 2021 islesser (Figure 7.10). Disaster types that hugely affectpeople in Asia are flood, drought, and storm. In particular,
Section 7

drought has been consistently affecting high number ofpeople in Asia during the last 30 years as well as in 2021.

Figure 7.10 People affected by disaster in Asia
(EM-DAT/CRED, 2022)

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NATURAL DISASTER DATABOOK 2021·

Economic Losses

Economic losses from disasters are lesser in 2021
compared with the annual average of economic losses in
the last 30 years (Figure 7.11). The disaster types that
incurred enormous economic damage in Asia are flood,earthquake, and storm. This data implies that flood has
been consistently causing massive economic impact
followed by storm and earthquake.

Figure 7.11 Economic losses from disasters in Asia
(EM-DAT/CRED, 2022)

7.2

Climate Related Disasters

In this section, an overview of climate-related disasters (particularly those triggered by drought, extreme
temperature, storm, flood, and wildfire events) will be highlighted. As a background, many factors
contributing to climate change may be gleaned from the historical perspective since the industrial revolution(which led to economic growth, booming industries, and heightened development). Industrial revolution has
atmosphere and altered the hazard profiles that make it more frequent and severe. These environmental
costs also contributed to the sudden and slow-onset hazards. Using the EM-DAT data, trends and impacts ofclimate-related disasters are analysed both at the global level and at the regional level (Asia).

7.2.1

Global trend in climate-related disasters

Data shows that there has been an increasing trend in climate-related disasters worldwide (Figure 7.12). On
top of that, climate-related disasters are becoming more destructive. In 2021 alone, extreme cold waves andheat waves were recorded in many parts of the world. In April 2021, France was hit by extreme cold wave,
and in June-July 2021, many parts of North America were hit by heat waves. British Columbia, Canada
topped a stunning 49.6°C (121°F) on 29 June 2021. On the same day, Quillayute, Washington in the UnitedStates recorded an astonishing heat wave of 43.3°C (110°F).

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Section 7

environmental costs (e.g., ‘The Anthropocene’) that resulted in the earth’s geological state, impacting the

NATURAL DISASTER DATABOOK 2021

Figure 7.12 Global Occurrence of Climate-related disaster(EM-DAT/CRED, 2022)

Globally, climate-related disasters (particularly: flood, storm, and drought) account for the highest number ofpeople affected as well as economic losses in 2021, a trend that continues since the last 30 years (Figure7.13).

Section 7

Figure 7.13 Impacts of climate-related disasters(EM-DAT/CRED, 2022)

7.2.2

Asian trend in climate-related disasters

In Asia, the trend of climate-related disasters mirrors the global trend with increasing occurrence of flood andstorm (Figure 7.14). So, similarly in 2021, most Asian countries experienced an increasing trend of climaterelated disasters. Aside from the heat wave, India was severely impacted by floods and cyclones affecting70

NATURAL DISASTER DATABOOK 2021

more than 18 million people. In Bangladesh and Nepal, millions of people were impacted by floods. In July
2021, about 14 million people in Henan Province, China and about 1 million people in Indonesia were
impacted by floods.

Figure 7.14 Occurrence of climate-related disasters in Asia
(EM-DAT/CRED, 2022)

Drought has also been affecting millions of people during the past 30 years and in 2021 (Figure 7.15).
Additionally, in 2021, drought incurred economic losses that unfolded slowly, but with devastatingconsequences affecting more than 28 million people.

Section 7

Figure 7.15 People affected and economic losses from disasters in Asia
(EM-DAT/CRED, 2022)

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7.3

COVID-19 Data

After two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the virus continues to mutate and spread around the globe withno foreseeable end in sight. In this regard, this section presents an overview of the cumulative data ofconfirmed cases and deaths since 11 March 2020 when the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the
pandemic. Using the data retrieved from the World Health Organisation COVID-19 Dashboard, an overview
of the COVID-19 situations at the global level and in ADRC member countries will be presented.

7.3.1

Global Situation

Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been multiple virus cycles that led to an upward trend of

confirmed cases. As the virus developed, it became more potent and less dangerous, thus showing morecases and lesser number of deaths. In addition, more individuals were vaccinated, thus reducing the worst
impacts of the virus. The peak was in January 2022 when 23,201,079 cases were recorded in the winter at
northern hemisphere.

Section 7

Figure 7.16 Global situation of COVID-19 as of July 2022
(WHO, 2022)

7.3.2

COVID-19 Situation in ADRC Member Countries

Among the ADRC member countries, India has recorded an extremely high number of accumulated infectedcases giving the impression that other member countries have lesser cases (Figure 7.17)

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Figure 7.17 COVID-19 cases in ADRC member countries(WHO, 2022)

However, if India is taken out from the graph, a number of ADRC member countries have relatively highaccumulated number of COVID-19 cases, including they Russian Federation, Turkey, Iran, Indonesia, and
the Philippines (Figure 7.18).

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Figure 7.18 COVID-19 cases in ADRC member countries without India in the graph(WHO, 2022)

Essentially, internal policies for navigating the coronavirus situation differs with each ADRC member country.
For example, strictness of COVID-19 countermeasures or harshness of penalties for breaking medical advice
contribute in the spike or control of cases.
As of 7 July 2022, there has been in declining trend of deaths from COVID-19 in ADRC member countries
compared to the time when the pandemic began. Factors contributing to the decline of the number of deaths
could include vaccination, weaker virus strain, and improvement in medical system in handing COVID-19

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cases. Among the ADRC countries that exhibited higher cumulative number of deaths from COVID-19
includes Armenia, Indonesia, Russian Federation, and Thailand (Figure 7.19).

Figure 7.19 COVID-19 situation in ADRC member countries(WHO, 2022)

Section 774