Natural disasters are undoubtedly tragic occurrences. Happening seemingly at random, freak storms, earthquakes, floods, and other dangerous events take a toll on society. Each year, Mother Nature claims thousands of lives as a result of its unpredictable and deadly terrestrial forces. With increasing concerns for global climate change, many believe that these natural disasters are only going to get worse. By recognizing the human cost of natural disasters, we can then better appreciate the risks of continued global climate change.

The Most Frequent Disasters

While many might fear the raw power of volcanic eruptions, such occurrences are quite rare on the global stage. Instead, severe floods and storms are much more likely to take place. In fact, floods and storms happen about four times as often as earthquakes, the third most frequent natural disaster.

The Death Toll

Between the years 1995 and 2015, natural disasters claimed the lives of over 600,000 individuals. Though not the most frequently occurring disaster, storms were nevertheless the most deadly, accounting for 40% of the total global deaths that resulted from natural disasters.

The Countries Most Heavily Affected

When it comes to dealing with natural disaster, some countries certainly have it worse than others. In the small country of Eritrea, a nation located on the western coast of Africa, Nearly one in three citizens were affected by a natural disaster from 1995-2015. China, though, has the largest absolute number of individuals affected by natural disasters: nearly 2.3 billion people in China faced a negative consequence of Mother Nature's wrath.