Weather-related disasters affect both developed and developing countries, with particularly high disaster impacts in rapidly growing middle-income countries, due to growing asset values in at-risk areas. However, low-income and lower middle-income countries have the least capacity to cope and, in general, suffer the highest human toll, accounting for 85% of all disaster fatalities.

Floods, droughts and windstorms are the most frequently occurring natural disaster events and account for almost 90% of the 1,000 most disastrous events since 1990. The number of people affected and estimated damages from water-related disasters continue to increase and are a constant feature of news reports.

Governments are obliged to take disaster risk reduction measures to protect, respect and fulfil the human rights guaranteed by international human rights instruments. The Rio+20 outcome document highlights that they also pose huge economic risks with costs estimated at USD 1 trillion from 2000 to 2010.

Climate change is anticipated to increase the frequency of heavy precipitation over many areas of the world, and to intensify droughts in some seasons and areas. Water management and development strategies have a pivotal role in reducing the exposure and vulnerability of people and assets to water-related extremes.

• From 1980 to 2012, disaster-related losses amounted to US$3,800 billion worldwide. Some 87% of these reported disasters (18,200 events), 74% of losses (US$2,800 billion) and 61% of lives lost (1.4 million in total) were caused by weather extremes.
• Development patterns, particularly population growth in high-risk areas and environmental degradation, continue to be the most important drivers of disaster risk. However, since the 1960s, human-induced climate change has been increasingly contributing to extreme events in the form of rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns (e.g. flash floods) and sea storms.

>> Access to a selection of UN publications on water and disasters
>> Access to a selection of UN publications on disaster prevention