Asian Disaster Reduction Center

Natural Disaster Databook 2021
An Analytical Overview

Table of Contents
1.

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

2.

Natural Disaster Data ..................................................................................................... 3
2.1

2.1.1

Occurrence ..................................................................................................................... 5

2.1.2

Deaths ............................................................................................................................ 5

2.1.3

People Affected.............................................................................................................. 6

2.1.4

Economic Losses ............................................................................................................ 6

2.2

3.

4.

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

Asian Disaster Data ................................................................................................................ 7

2.2.1

Occurrence ..................................................................................................................... 7

2.2.2

Deaths ............................................................................................................................ 8

2.2.3

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

2.2.4

Economic Losses ............................................................................................................ 9

Climate Related Disasters ............................................................................................. 9
3.1

Global trend in climate-related disasters............................................................................... 9

3.2

Asian trend in climate-related disasters .............................................................................. 11

COVID-19 Data .............................................................................................................. 12
4.1

Global Situation ................................................................................................................... 12

4.2

COVID-19 Situation in ADRC Member Countries ................................................................. 12

List of Figures
Figure 2.1 Trend of disaster occurrence 1900-2020 (EM-DAT/CRED, 2022) ......................................... 4
Figure 2.2 Disaster occurrence data by region 2021 vs 1991-2020 (EM-DAT/CRED, 2022) .................. 4
Figure 2.3 Global disaster occurrence 2021 vs 1991-2020 (EM-DAT/CRED, 2022) ............................... 5
Figure 2.4 Global number of deaths by disaster type (EM-DAT/CRED, 2022) ....................................... 5
Figure 2.5 Global number of people affected by disaster type (EM-DAT/CRED, 2022) ......................... 6
Figure 2.6 Global economic losses (EM-DAT/CRED, 2022) .................................................................... 6
Figure 2.7 Top ten countries in Asia with high disaster occurrence in 2021 (EM-DAT/CRED, 2022) ..... 7
Figure 2.8 Disaster occurrence in Asia (EM-DAT/CRED, 2022) .............................................................. 7
Figure 2.9 People killed by disaster type in Asia (EM-DAT/CRED, 2022) ............................................... 8
Figure 2.10 People affected by disaster in Asia (EM-DAT/CRED, 2022)................................................. 8
Figure 2.11 Economic losses from disasters in Asia (EM-DAT/CRED, 2022) .......................................... 9
Figure 3.1 Global Occurrence of Climate-related disaster (EM-DAT/CRED, 2022) .............................. 10
Figure 3.2 Impacts of climate-related disasters (EM-DAT/CRED, 2022) .............................................. 10
Figure 3.3 Occurrence of climate-related disasters in Asia (EM-DAT/CRED, 2022) ............................. 11
Figure 3.4 People affected and economic losses from disasters in Asia (EM-DAT/CRED, 2022) ......... 11
Figure 4.1 Global situation of COVID-19 as of July 2022 (WHO, 2022) ................................................ 12
Figure 4.2 COVID-19 cases in ADRC member countries (WHO, 2022) ................................................. 13
Figure 4.3 COVID-19 cases in ADRC member countries without India in the graph (WHO, 2022) ...... 13
Figure 4.4 COVID-19 situation in ADRC member countries (WHO, 2022) ........................................... 14

NATURAL DISASTER DATABOOK 2021

1.

Introduction

ADRC publishes the Natural Disaster Databook annually to provide statistical and analyticalperspectives of natural 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 (Annex 1: Notes on the Sources of Data). This
analytical overview, presented in graphs with explanations, is divided into three key sections:•

In the first section, natural disaster data of 2021 is compared with the annual average dataof 1991-2020 both at the Global level and at the regional level (Asia)•

In the second section, climate-related 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 the third section, COVID-19 situations at the global level and in the ADRC member
countries are presented to show the cumulative data of confirmed cases and deaths

Regarding natural disasters in general, the number of occurrences has significantly increased
during the last 30 years (1991-2020). This increasing trend is observed globally and in the
Asian region. In 2021, the total of disaster occurrences was 436, which is higher than theannual average of 376 during the last 30 years. Flood and storm have consistently shown thehighest frequency of occurrence and subsequently with the highest amounts of economic
losses. Although the frequency of disaster occurrences has been increasing, the number ofdeaths from disasters is decreasing. Existing data shows that deaths from disasters 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 that the 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 Indian Ocean Tsunami (2004) or the Great East Japan Earthquake (2011). In
2021, economic losses from disasters continued to show an increasing trend, and this ishugely concentrated in the high-income or developed countries, such as the United States orJapan. Asia remains to be the most disaster-prone region in the world such that in 2021, theregion recorded the highest number of disaster occurrences, particularly in Indonesia (28),India (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 heat waves (e.g., Canada in July) were recorded in many parts of2

NATURAL DISASTER DATABOOK 2021
the world. Climate-related disasters, particularly flood, storm, and drought, account for thehighest 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 fromheat 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 of people 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 number of deaths globally. The peak was in January 2022 when 23,201,079 cases
were recorded during the winter 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 strain of the virus, andimprovement in the medical system for handing COVID-19 cases.

2.

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 ofoccurrence, death tolls, people affected, and economic losses.

2.1

Global Disaster Data

Globally, there has been an increasing trend of disaster occurrence since 1900 (Figure 2.1).
Compared with the frequency of disaster occurrence in the 1960s with the present trend, thefrequency of disaster occurrence increases as much as tenfold. Some of the key determinants
for this increasing trend are population growth and economic development (Annex 2: Key
Determinants).

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NATURAL DISASTER DATABOOK 2021

Figure 2.1 Trend of disaster occurrence 1900-2020 (EM-DAT/CRED, 2022)

In 2021, the Asian region exhibited the highest number of disaster occurrences at 40% of thetotal global occurrences. This figure indicates that Asia remains to be the most disaster-prone
region in the world considering that in the last 30 years (1991-2020), the region accounted for
39% of the total disaster occurrences (Figure 2.2).

Figure 2.2 Disaster occurrence data by region 2021 vs 1991-2020 (EM-DAT/CRED, 2022)

4

NATURAL DISASTER DATABOOK 2021
2.1.1

Occurrence

Around world, EM-DAT recorded a total of 436
natural disaster occurrences in 2021. This
number is higher compared with the annual
average of 376 disaster occurrence during thelast 30 years (Figure 2.3). In particular, floodand storm have consistently shown thehighest frequency of occurrence in 2021 andduring the last 30 years. Among the mostdevastating flood and storm 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, triggeredby heavy rain, in Kamdesh District, Nuristan
Province, Afghanistan in July 2021; and 4)
TyphoonRai(localname:

Odette)inFigure 2.3 Global disaster occurrence 2021 vs 1991-2020

southeastern part of the Philippines on 16 (EM-DAT/CRED, 2022)
December 2021.

2.1.2

DeathsAs shown in Figure 2.4, the total number ofpeople who died from disasters in 2021 is
14,442. This number is lesser compared to theannual average of 61,086 people who died fromdisasters during the past 30 years (1991-2020).
Two implications can be highlighted about thisdata. On one hand, since the number of deaths
from disasters is getting lesser (despite the factthat the number of disaster events is increasing)
could indicate that the disaster risk management(DRM) systems may have improved. On theother hand, it could mean that the number ofdeaths in 2021 is lesser simply because there
were no mass casualty events similar to the
Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake (1995), the Indian Figure 2.4 Global number of deaths by disaster
Ocean Tsunami (2004), and the Great East type (EM-DAT/CRED, 2022)
5

NATURAL DISASTER DATABOOK 2021
Japan Earthquake (2011) that occurred during the previous 30 years. However, it should be
noted that the number of deaths by wildfire and volcanic eruption has not decreased as theother hazards. This indicates that the challenge of reducing this number of deaths is still there.

2.1.3

People AffectedOverall, the number of people affected bydisasters in 2021 is lesser compared to the annual
average of the last 30 years (Figure 2.5). It is likely
due to the fact that there were more large-scaledisasters that occurred during the last 30 years
than in 2021. The trend shows that annually, more
and more people are affected by flood, drought,
and storm. Usually, the locations of people whoare highly vulnerable to these climate-related
hazards are hugely concentrated in low andmiddle-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
Figure 2.5 Global number of people affected bycontinually affecting low-income countries in 2021. disaster type (EM-DAT/CRED, 2022)
2.1.4

Economic Losses

Economic losses from disasters in 2021 are higher
compared to the annual average of economic
losses in the last 30 years (Figure 2.6). EM-DAT
data indicates that the huge economic losses fromdisasters are concentrated in high-income ordeveloped countries (e.g., Japan and UnitedStates)due

infrastructurestomassiveanddestructions

properties,

in

which

subsequently result in business interruption
losses.

Figure 2.6 Global economic losses (EM-DAT/CRED,
2022)

6

NATURAL DISASTER DATABOOK 2021

2.2

Asian Disaster Data

Recognizing that Asia is the most disaster-prone region in the world, ADRC specificallyhighlights disaster data 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 thePhilippines (14) among others (Figure 2.7).

Figure 2.7 Top ten countries in Asia with high disaster occurrence in 2021 (EM-DAT/CRED, 2022)

2.2.1

Occurrence

Disaster occurrence in Asia in 2021 isrecorded at 175. This number is higher
compared with the annual average ofdisaster occurrences during the last 30
years (Figure 2.8). Disaster types that haveincreasing frequency of occurrences areflood, 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 2.8 Disaster occurrence in Asia (EM-DAT/CRED, 2022)

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NATURAL DISASTER DATABOOK 2021
2.2.2

DeathsIn terms of the number of people killed bydisasters, data in Asia showed that lesser
people died from disaster in 2021 comparedto the annual average of the last 30 years(Figure 2.9). This is consistent with the global
trend showing that while the number ofdisaster occurrences is increasing, thenumber of people killed from those disasters
is decreasing. This implies that countries in
Asia may have relatively improved theirdisaster risk management systems. With
regard to the disaster type that caused moredeaths, the data shows that flood, storm, andearthquake caused massive casualties.

2.2.3

Figure 2.9 People killed by disaster type in Asia
(EM-DAT/CRED, 2022)

People AffectedCompared with the annual average number ofpeople affected by disasters in the last 30
years (1991-2020), the number of people
affected by disasters in Asia in 2021 is lesser(Figure 2.10). Disaster types that hugely affectpeople in Asia are flood, drought, and storm. In
particular, drought has been consistently
affecting high number of people in Asia during
the last 30 years as well as in 2021.

Figure 2.10 People affected by disaster in Asia
(EM-DAT/CRED, 2022)

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NATURAL DISASTER DATABOOK 2021
2.2.4

Economic Losses

Economic losses from disasters are lesser in
2021 compared with the annual average of
economic losses in the last 30 years (Figure2.11).

The

disaster

types

that

incurredenormous economic damage in Asia are flood,earthquake, and storm. This data implies thatflood has been consistently causing massive
economic impact followed by storm andearthquake.

Figure 2.11 Economic losses from disasters in Asia
(EM-DAT/CRED, 2022)

3.

Climate Related Disasters

In this section, an overview of climate-related disasters (particularly those triggered bydrought, extreme temperature, storm, flood, and wildfire events) will be highlighted. As abackground, it is recognized that there are many factors contributing to climate change may
be gleaned from the historical perspective since the industrial revolution (which led toeconomic growth, booming industries, and heightened development). Industrial revolution has
environmental costs (e.g., ‘The Anthropocene’) that resulted in the earth’s geological state,
impacting the atmosphere and altered the hazard profiles that make it more frequent andsevere. These environmental costs also contributed to the sudden and slow-onset hazards.
Using the EM-DAT data, trends and impacts of climate-related disasters are analysed both at
the global level and at the regional level (Asia).

3.1

Global trend in climate-related disasters

Data shows that there has been an increasing trend in climate-related disasters worldwide(Figure 3.1). On top of that, climate-related disasters are becoming more destructive. In 2021
alone, extreme cold waves and heat 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 United States recorded anastonishing heat wave of 43.3°C (110°F).
9NATURAL DISASTER DATABOOK 2021

Figure 3.1 Global Occurrence of Climate-related disaster (EM-DAT/CRED, 2022)

Globally, climate-related disasters (particularly: flood, storm, and drought) account for thehighest number of people affected as well as economic losses in 2021, a trend that continues
since the last 30 years (Figure 3.2).

Figure 3.2 Impacts of climate-related disasters (EM-DAT/CRED, 2022)

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NATURAL DISASTER DATABOOK 2021

3.2

Asian trend in climate-related disasters

In Asia, the trend of climate-related disasters mirrors the global trend with increasing
occurrence of flood and storm (Figure 3.3). So, similarly in 2021, most Asian countries
experienced an increasing trend of climate-related disasters. Aside from the heat wave, India
was severely impacted by floods and cyclones affecting 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 3.3 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 (Figure3.4). Additionally, in 2021, drought incurred economic losses that unfolded slowly, but withdevastating consequences affecting more than 28 million people.

Figure 3.4 People affected and economic losses from disasters in Asia (EM-DAT/CRED, 2022)

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NATURAL DISASTER DATABOOK 2021

4.

COVID-19 Data

After two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the virus continues to mutate and spread aroundthe globe with no foreseeable end in sight. In this regard, this section presents an overview of
the cumulative data of confirmed 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.

4.1

Global Situation

Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been multiple virus cycles that led to an
upward trend of confirmed cases (Figure 4.1). As the virus developed, it became more potent
and less dangerous, thus showing more cases and lesser number of deaths. In addition, moreindividuals were vaccinated, thus reducing the worst impacts of the virus. The peak was inJanuary 2022 when 23,201,079 cases were recorded in the winter at northern hemisphere.

Figure 4.1 Global situation of COVID-19 as of July 2022 (WHO, 2022)

4.2

COVID-19 Situation in ADRC Member Countries

Among the ADRC member countries, India has recorded an extremely high number ofaccumulated infected cases giving the impression that other member countries have lesser
cases (Figure 4.2)

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NATURAL DISASTER DATABOOK 2021

Figure 4.2 COVID-19 cases in ADRC member countries (WHO, 2022)

However, if India is taken out from the graph, a number of ADRC member countries haverelatively high accumulated number of COVID-19 cases, including they Russian Federation,
Turkey, Iran, Indonesia, and the Philippines (Figure 4.3).

Figure 4.3 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 ofpenalties for breaking medical advice contribute in the spike or control of cases.

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NATURAL DISASTER DATABOOK 2021
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, andimprovement in medical system in handing COVID-19 cases. Among the ADRC countries
that exhibited higher cumulative number of deaths from COVID-19 includes Armenia,
Indonesia, Russian Federation, and Thailand (Figure 4.4).

Figure 4.4 COVID-19 situation in ADRC member countries (WHO, 2022)

14

ANNEX 1 NOTES ON SOURCES OF DATA

Notes on Sources of Data
Natural Disaster Data
All disaster data are based on EM-DAT: The Emergency Events Database - Université catholique deLouvain (UCL) - CRED, www.emdat.be, Brussels, Belgium. Data set was obtained on 7 July 2022,
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

Databook 2021 follows the EM-DAT definitions of “people killed” as persons confirmed as dead andpersons missing and presumed dead; “people affected” as the sum of injured, homeless, and affected
requiring immediate assistance during the period of emergency and requiring basic survival needs suchas food, water, shelter, sanitation and immediate medical assistance.

Disaster Terms:
Drought includes an extended period of unusually low precipitation that produces a shortage of waterfor 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.

Classification of EM-DAT:EM-DAT distinguishes between two generic categories for disasters: natural and technological. The
natural disaster category is divided into 5 sub-groups, which in turn cover 15 disaster types and morethan 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

ANNEX 1 NOTES ON SOURCES OF DATACOVID-19 Data
All COVID-19 data used in the Databook 2021 is based from the World Health Organization Coronavirus(COVID-19) Dashboard, https://covid19.who.int/ accessed on 7 July 2022.

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 andterritories may decline to allow country-level disaggregation.

Some ADRC member-countries have no record of COVID-19 data in the WHO COVID-19 Dashboard.

ANNEX 2 KEY DETERMINANTS FOR DATA ANALYSISKey Determinants for Data Analysis
In analysing the natural disaster data, ADRC is mindful of these four key determinants.

Population. It is clear that population affects the presentation of disaster profile of a country, region, or
continent. EM-DAT’s criteria for a disaster is when an event kills 10 or more people or affects 1,000 or
more. If it is considered that a disaster occurs at the intersection of a natural hazard and a vulnerable
population, a key facet of both of these parameters is the number of individuals exposed. Therefore,
countries with larger populations would see a higher probability of disaster occurrence. Therefore, itwould be logical for China and India to have the greatest weight on the parameters (e.g., total affected
and total deaths), which the data supports.

Level of development. Countries that belong to the higher level of the development spectrum (usuallycorrelated with GDP) accumulate capital and assets of higher value. This exposes them to heightened
economic risk. Therefore, developed countries usually top the list when assessing total damages. The
data supports this in such a way that the top three most damaging (USD value) disaster events to datewere the Great Hanshin Awaji Earthquake of 1995, Hurricane Katrina of 2005, and the Great East Japan
Earthquake of 2011.

Socio-political condition. Another EM-DAT criterion for a disaster is when the government declaresa state of emergency and calls for international assistance. However, since there are different bases
and thresholds for national governments to declare state of emergency and call for international
assistance, it is likely that the socio-political condition comes into play. Therefore, it possible that theinclusion of some events is dependent on value judgements in a given socio-political condition.

Statistical timestamp bias. In this Databook, disaster data of 2021 is compared with the annual
average of disaster data from 1990-2020. While valuable conclusions may be made from the 2021
disaster data, it is susceptible to disproportionate representation of individual events. On the other hand,the average data of 1990-2020 is susceptible to under-representation of disaster events.

ANNEX 2 KEY DETERMINANTS FOR DATA ANALYSISKey Determinants for Data Analysis
In analysing the natural disaster data, ADRC is mindful of these four key determinants.

Population. It is clear that population affects the presentation of disaster profile of a country, region, or
continent. EM-DAT’s criteria for a disaster is when an event kills 10 or more people or affects 1,000 or
more. If it is considered that a disaster occurs at the intersection of a natural hazard and a vulnerable
population, a key facet of both of these parameters is the number of individuals exposed. Therefore,
countries with larger populations would see a higher probability of disaster occurrence. Therefore, itwould be logical for China and India to have the greatest weight on the parameters (e.g., total affected
and total deaths), which the data supports.

Level of development. Countries that belong to the higher level of the development spectrum (usuallycorrelated with GDP) accumulate capital and assets of higher value. This exposes them to heightened
economic risk. Therefore, developed countries usually top the list when assessing total damages. The
data supports this in such a way that the top three most damaging (USD value) disaster events to datewere the Great Hanshin Awaji Earthquake of 1995, Hurricane Katrina of 2005, and the Great East Japan
Earthquake of 2011.

Socio-political condition. Another EM-DAT criterion for a disaster is when the government declaresa state of emergency and calls for international assistance. However, since there are different bases
and thresholds for national governments to declare state of emergency and call for international
assistance, it is likely that the socio-political condition comes into play. Therefore, it possible that theinclusion of some events is dependent on value judgements in a given socio-political condition.

Statistical timestamp bias. In this Databook, disaster data of 2021 is compared with the annual
average of disaster data from 1990-2020. While valuable conclusions may be made from the 2021
disaster data, it is susceptible to disproportionate representation of individual events. On the other hand,the average data of 1990-2020 is susceptible to under-representation of disaster events.

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