Financial ‘Disasters’: Natural Calamities Cost India $80 Billion Between 1998-2017, Says UN Report

According to a recent report by the United Nations Office For Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), India faced a loss of $80 billion due to natural disasters between 1997-2018, Times of India has reported.

The impact of natural disasters on lower middle income countries like India has been the highest according to the report titled, “Economic Losses, Poverty and Disasters 1998-2017”. India has been ranked among top five countries in terms of absolute economic losses by the report. Global economic losses due to natural disasters have been pegged at $ 3 trillion.

“In 1998-2017 disaster-hit countries also reported direct economic losses valued at US$ 2,908 billion, of which climate-related disasters caused US$ 2,245 billion or 77 per cent of the total. This is up from 68 per cent (US$ 895 billion) of losses (US$ 1,313 billion) reported between 1978 and 1997. Overall, reported losses from extreme weather events rose by 151 per cent between these two 20-year periods”, the report said.

The study was conducted by UNISDR and Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) It was released before International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction (13 October). The report points to the fact that developing countries will face huge challenges in coming years because of natural disasters.