Extreme weather hit 60 million people in 2018, no part of the world spared

24 january 2019

With some 60 million people affected by extreme weather in 2018, according to a new study, the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) called for better management of the issue worldwide, in a statement published on Thursday.
The study cited by the agency, from the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) – showed that earthquakes and tsunamis claimed more lives than any other type of hazard, with over 10,000 lives lost in the last year; whilst floods, droughts, storms and wildfires affected more than 57 million.
Floods affected the largest number of people – over 35 million – with 23 million in the Indian State of Kerala alone. Storms are expected to be the costliest type of disaster once final economic losses are compiled: the cost of the damage caused by Hurricane Michael, which inundated the eastern seaboard of the United States, is estimated to reach around $16 billion.

2018 was a record-breaking year when it came to wildfires, with the US experiencing its deadliest outbreak in over a century (it was also the costliest on record), and Greece suffering a record number of casualties from wildfires, with 126 losing their lives.

https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/01/1031182

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) : 2018 : Extreme weather events affected 60m people: https://www.unisdr.org/archive/63267