Asian Disaster Reduction Center

Natural Disaster Data Book 2020
An Analytical Overview

Table of Contents
1.

Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 2

2.

Global Disaster Data........................................................................................................................ 3

3.

4.

5.

2.1.

Occurrence .............................................................................................................................. 3

2.2.

Deaths ..................................................................................................................................... 4

2.3.

People Affected....................................................................................................................... 5

2.4.

Economic Losses ..................................................................................................................... 5

Asian Disaster Data ......................................................................................................................... 6
3.1.

Occurrence .............................................................................................................................. 6

3.2.

Deaths ..................................................................................................................................... 7

3.3.

People Affected....................................................................................................................... 8

3.4.

Economic Losses ..................................................................................................................... 8

Climate-Related Disasters ............................................................................................................... 9
4.1.

Global Trend in Climate-Related Disasters ........................................................................... 10

4.2.

Asian Trend in Climate-Related Disasters ............................................................................. 11

COVID-19 Data .............................................................................................................................. 115.1.

Global Situation..................................................................................................................... 125.2.

Situation in ADRC Member Countries ................................................................................... 12Figure 1 Occurrence of Disaster 2020 vs 1990-2019 (EM-DAT/CRED, 2021) ......................................... 3Figure 2 Disaster Occurrence by Region (EM-DAT/CRED, 2021) ............................................................ 4Figure 3 Deaths by Disaster Type 2020 vs 1990-2019 (EM-DAT/CRED, 2021) ....................................... 4Figure 4 People Affected by Disaster 2020 vs 1990-2019 (EM-DAT/CRED, 2021) ................................ 5Figure 5 Economic Losses 2020 vs 1990-2019 (EM-DAT/CRED, 2021) ................................................... 6Figure 6 Occurrence Disasters in Asia 2020 vs 1990-2019 (EM-DAT/CRED, 2021) ................................ 7Figure 7 Top 10 Countries of Disaster Occurrence 2020 (EM-DAT/CRED, 2021) ................................... 7Figure 8 Number of Deaths in Asia 2020 vs 1990-2019 (EM-DAT/CRED, 2021) ..................................... 8Figure 9 People Affected in Asia 2020 vs 1990-2019 (EM-DAT/CRED, 2021)......................................... 8Figure 10 Economic Losses in Asia 2020 vs 1990-2019 (EM-DAT/CRED, 2021) ..................................... 9Figure 11 Tendency of Occurrence of Flood and Storm 1990-2019 (EM-DAT/CRED, 2021) ................ 10Figure 12 Tendency of Occurrence of Flood and Storm 2020 (EM-DAT/CRED, 2021) ......................... 10Figure 13 Tendency of Occurrence of Flood and Storm in Asia 2020 (EM-DAT/CRED, 2021) .............. 11Figure 14 Global Situation of COVID-19 (WHO, 2021) .......................................................................... 12Figure 15 COVID-19 Situation in ADRC Member Countries (WHO, 2021) ............................................ 13NATURAL DISASTER DATABOOK 2020

1. Introduction
Annually, ADRC publishes the Natural Disaster Data Book to provide statisticalperspectives in figures and tables of natural disaster data. ADRC obtains data from
EM-DAT and analyses it to show the occurrence, death tolls, people affected, andeconomic impact of disasters (See Annex 1: Notes on the Sources of Data). For thisyear’s (FY2020) issue, two sets of data for statistical perspectives are added: data
relating to climate-related disasters and data relating to COVID-19 situation. The
approach of presenting the data is as follow:
Natural disaster data of 2020 is compared with the annual average of disaster dataof the past three decades (i.e.,1990-2019) at the global level and at the Asian levelClimate-related disasters of 2020 is compared with the annual average of the past
three decades (i.e., 1990-2019) at the global level and at the Asian level



COVID-19 situation (i.e., using cumulative data of confirmed cases and deaths) ispresented at global level as well as in the ADRC member countries
While many observations could be made after looking at the infographics, thefollowing could be highlighted. Firstly, flood and storm have been the most frequentcauses of disasters in 2020 as well as during the last 30 years. These two disastertypes also account for the highest number of people affected and the highest economic
losses in 2020 and in the last 30 years. This observation indicates that disaster risk
reduction and management actions for flood and storm need further improvements.
Secondly, flood and storm (unlike earthquake) are climate-related disaster types thatshow the tendency of frequently occurring, as observed in 2020 and during the last 30years. This observation is notable not only globally, but also, in Asia. Thirdly, thenumber of confirmed cases and deaths from COVID-19 has peaked in several
occasions since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the pandemic on 11March 2020. The highest peak so far was on 26 April 2021, recording a total of5,695,585 COVID-19 confirmed cases globally on that day. Although some westerncountries rolled out vaccines, there emerged some COVID-19 variants (e.g., deltavariant) that might have contributed to the increasing number of confirmed cases. InADRC member countries, cumulative data shows that COVID-19 situation is so varied,
reflecting the differences in policies as well as socioeconomic conditions of Asiancountries.

2

NATURAL DISASTER DATABOOK 2020

2. Global Disaster Data
This section presents the global disaster data pertaining to the occurrence, death
tolls, people affected, and economic losses in 2020 as compared to the last 30 years(1990-2019). The source of all data, as used in this section, is from EM-DAT/CRED,UC Louvain, Brussels, Belgium, www.emdat.be (D. Guha-Sapir), 26 May 2021.

2.1.

Occurrence

The total number of disaster occurrence in 2020 is 398. This number is higher
compared to the annual average of 374 disaster occurrence in the past three decades(1990-2019). Flood and storm show the highest number of occurrences in 2020 as
well as during the last 30 years (Figure 1).

Figure 1 Occurrence of Disaster 2020 vs 1990-2019 (EM-DAT/CRED, 2021)

Of the total recorded disasters in 2020, forty one percent (163) occurred in Asia,indicating that Asian region remains the most disaster-prone region in the world(Figure 2).

3

NATURAL DISASTER DATABOOK 2020

Figure 2 Disaster Occurrence by Region (EM-DAT/CRED, 2021)

2.2.

DeathsIn 2020, the total number of deaths from disasters (excluding deaths from COVID19) is 15,286. This number is lesser compared to the annual average of 62,361 deaths
from disasters in the last three decades (Figure 3).

Figure 3 Deaths by Disaster Type 2020 vs 1990-2019 (EM-DAT/CRED, 2021)

The occurrence of high mass casualty events, such as the 2004 Indian Ocean
Tsunami, the 2010 Haiti Earthquake, and the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake,4

NATURAL DISASTER DATABOOK 2020

explains why the annual average number of deaths during the last 30 years is muchhigher compared with the deaths from disaster in 2020.

2.3.

People AffectedPeople affected by disaster in 2020 is about 99.1 million. This number is lesser
compared to the annual average of 202.1 million people affected by disasters in thepast three decades (Figure 4).

Figure 4 People Affected by Disaster 2020 vs 1990-2019(EM-DAT/CRED, 2021)

Compared to the last 30 years, there were less occurrences of high-impact events(e.g., the 2015/2016 drought in India) in 2020. This could be one of the reasons why
the number of affected people in 2020 is lesser compared to the annual average ofthe last three decades.

2.4.

Economic Losses

Economic losses due to disasters in 2020 is recorded at US$ 173.1 billion. This
figure is higher compared to the annual average of US$ 108.5 billion disaster
economic losses in the past three decades. Notably, much of the economic losses
were caused by storms and floods (Figure 5).

5

NATURAL DISASTER DATABOOK 2020

Figure 5 Economic Losses 2020 vs 1990-2019 (EM-DAT/CRED, 2021)

3. Asian Disaster Data
This section presents the Asian disaster data pertaining to the occurrence, death
tolls, people affected, and economic losses in 2020 as compared to the last 30 years(1990-2019). The source of all data, as used in this section, is from EM-DAT/CRED,UC Louvain, Brussels, Belgium, www.emdat.be (D. Guha-Sapir), 26 May 2021.

3.1.

Occurrence

Asian region recorded a total number of 163 disaster occurrence in 2020. This
number is higher compared to the annual average of 146 disaster occurrence in thepast three decades (1990-2019) as shown in Figure 6.

6

NATURAL DISASTER DATABOOK 2020

Figure 6 Occurrence Disasters in Asia 2020 vs 1990-2019 (EM-DAT/CRED, 2021)

Similar to the global trend, flood and storm show the highest number ofoccurrences in 2020 as well as during the last 30 years in Asia. These disasters mostly
occurred in Indonesia, China, Vietnam, India, Turkey, Philippines, Iran, Afghanistan,and Pakistan (Figure 7).

Figure 7 Top 10 Countries of Disaster Occurrence 2020 (EM-DAT/CRED, 2021)

3.2.

DeathsIn Asia, the total number of deaths from disasters (excluding deaths from COVID19) in 2020 is 6,042. This number is lesser compared to the annual average of 38,398
deaths from disasters in the last three decades (Figure 8).

7

NATURAL DISASTER DATABOOK 2020

Figure 8 Number of Deaths in Asia 2020 vs 1990-2019 (EM-DAT/CRED, 2021)

3.3.

People Affected

People affected by disaster in Asia in 2020 is about 62.4 million. This number islesser compared to the annual average of 175.5 million people affected by disasters
in the past three decades in the region (Figure 9).

Figure 9 People Affected in Asia 2020 vs 1990-2019 (EM-DAT/CRED, 2021)

3.4.

Economic Losses

While the number of deaths and people affected by disaster is lesser compared toannual average of the past 30 years, the economic losses are higher. Economic losses
8

NATURAL DISASTER DATABOOK 2020

in 2020 is US$ 67.4 billion, which is higher than the annual average of US$ 49.2 billion
during the past three decades (Figure 10).

Figure 10 Economic Losses in Asia 2020 vs 1990-2019 (EM-DAT/CRED, 2021)

4. Climate-Related Disasters
This section looks into the occurrences of climate-related disasters, especiallyflood and storm during the past 30 years (1990-2019) as compared to its occurrencesin 2020. The source of all data, as used in this section, is from EM-DAT/CRED, UC
Louvain, Brussels, Belgium, www.emdat.be (D. Guha-Sapir), 26 May 2021.
In the past 30 years, the tendency of occurrences of flood and storm have been
consistently high. Of the 10,686 global total disaster occurrences during the period
1990-2019, flood accounts for 4,366 (41%) occurrences while storm accounts 3,214(30%) of occurrences. In other the combined occurrences of flood and storm accountfor 71% of total disaster events. A similar trend is shown in Asia (Figure 11).

9NATURAL DISASTER DATABOOK 2020

Figure 11 Tendency of Occurrence of Flood and Storm 1990-2019(EM-DAT/CRED, 2021)

4.1.

Global Trend in Climate-Related Disasters

In 2020, flood and storm (which are climate-related disasters) account for thehighest number of disaster occurrences globally. This number shows a similar trend
during the past 30 years (1990-2019) as shown in Figure 12.

Figure 12 Tendency of Occurrence of Flood and Storm 2020
(EM-DAT/CRED, 2021)

10

NATURAL DISASTER DATABOOK 2020

As noted earlier, flood and storm are not only the most frequent causes of disasters
in 2020 and during the last 30 years, but these also account for the highest number ofpeople affected as well as economic losses.

4.2.

Asian Trend in Climate-Related Disasters

Similar to the global data, flood and storm account for the highest number ofdisaster occurrence in Asia in 2020 (Figure 13).

Figure 13 Tendency of Occurrence of Flood and Storm inAsia 2020 (EM-DAT/CRED, 2021)

5. COVID-19 Data
This section looks into the cumulative data of COVID-19 confirmed cases anddeaths since 11 March 2020 when the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it
as a pandemic. Infographics in this section show the global COVID-19 situation as wellas the situation in ADRC member countries. The source of all data, as used in thissection, is from the World Health Organization Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard,
https://covid19.who.int/, 21September 2021.

11NATURAL DISASTER DATABOOK 2020

5.1.

Global Situation

Since 11 March 2020, the number of confirmed cases has been peaking for several
occasions (Figure 14). The highest peak was on 26 April 2021, recording a global totalof 5,695,585 confirmed cases on that day.

Figure 14 Global Situation of COVID-19 (WHO, 2021)

In January 2021, western countries started rolling out COVID-19 vaccines whichmaybe contributing to the declining number of confirmed cases of infection during themonths of February and March. However, during those times, there were also newvariants of COVID-19 (e.g., delta variant) that were more transmittable. It is likely thatthe variants contributed to the increasing number of confirmed cases, reaching thehighest record in 26 April 2021.

5.2.

Situation in ADRC Member Countries

At the outset, it should be noted ADRC has a total of 31 member-countries.
However, due to lack of data reported to the WHO, only the COVID-19 situation of 20
member-countries are presented (Figure 15).

12

NATURAL DISASTER DATABOOK 2020

Figure 15 COVID-19 Situation in ADRC Member Countries (WHO, 2021)

The data indicates that countries in Asian region are so diverse in terms of policies
and programs in controlling the spread of COVID-19 infection. Why is it that countries
like Bhutan, China, Lao PDR, Papua New Guinea and Singapore could minimize thenumber of deaths from COVID-19 while India, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka could not? One
likely explanation is that ADRC member countries vary in the degree of implementing
the common countermeasures for COVID-19 (e.g., face covering, social distancing,and hand sanitation) due to differences of local situations, including economicconditions and socio-political contexts. For instance, Japan and the Republic of Korea
did not implement nationwide lockdowns nor strict travel restrictions while countries
like India and the Philippines imposed lockdowns, and even commanding the military
to enforce those restrictions.

13

NATURAL DISASTER DATABOOK 2020

Annex 1: Notes on Sources of Data
Natural Disaster Data
All disaster data are based on EM-DAT: The Emergency Events Database - Université
catholique de Louvain (UCL) - CRED, D. Guha-Sapir - www.emdat.be, Brussels,Belgium. Data set was obtained on 26 May 2021, unless otherwise stated.
EM-DAT Criteria:
For a disaster to be entered into the database, at least one of the following criteria
must be fulfilled:Ten (10) or more people reported killed

Hundred (100) or more people reported affected

Declaration of a state of emergency

Call for international assistance

Data Book 2020 follows the EM-DAT definitions of “people killed” as persons
confirmed as dead and persons missing and presumed dead; “people affected” as thesum of injured, homeless, and affected requiring immediate assistance during theperiod of emergency and requiring basic survival needs such as food, water, shelter,
sanitation and immediate medical assistance.
Disaster Terms:
Drought includes an extended period of unusually low precipitation that produces ashortage of water for people, animals and plants.
Earthquake includes ground shaking and tsunami.
Epidemic includes bacterial and viral infectious diseases.
Extreme Temperature includes heat wave, cold wave, and extreme winter conditions.
Flood includes general flood, and flash flood.
Insect Infection is pervasive influx and development of insects or parasites affecting
humans, animals, crops and materials.
Landslide includes avalanche, debris, and rockfall.
Storm includes local storm, tropical cyclone, and winter storm.
Volcanic activity means volcanic eruption.
Wildfire includes bush/brush fire, forest fire, and scrub/grassland fire.
14

NATURAL DISASTER DATABOOK 2020

Classification of EM-DAT:EM-DAT distinguishes between two generic categories for disasters: natural andtechnological. The natural disaster category is divided into 5 sub-groups, which inturn cover 15 disaster types and more than 30 sub-types. The technological disaster
category is divided into 3 sub-groups which in turn cover 15 disaster types,
https://www.emdat.be/classification

COVID-19 Data
All COVID-19 data used in the Data Book 2020 is based from the World HealthOrganization Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard, https://covid19.who.int/ accessedon 21September 2021.
Data from the WHO COVID-19 Dashboard are from the official reporting to WHO
through regional offices and also from public websites, not official reported to WHO.
Member States select the reporting system they prefer to use and data from different
reporting systems. Individual countries, area and territories may decline to allow
country-level disaggregation.
Some ADRC member-countries have no record of COVID-19 data in the WHOCOVID-19 Dashboard.

15

The Asian Disaster Reduction Center was established in Kobe, Japan in 1998 with the mission to enhancedisaster resilience of its member-countries, to build safe communities, and to create a society wheresustainable development is possible. The Center works to build disaster resilient communities and toestablish networks among countries through many programs including personnel exchanges in this field.

Asian Disaster Reduction Center