Soaring cost of climate-related disasters

Economic losses from climate-related disasters totalled $2.25 trillion over the past two decades, an increase of more than 150 percent compared to the previous 20-year period, according to the UN


Top 10 countries / territories in terms of total losses ($ billions)
1998-2017

United States 944.8
Mexico 46.5
Puerto Rico 71.7
Italy 56.6
France 43.3
Germany 57.9
India 79.5
Thailand 52.4
Japan* 376.3
China 492.2

Storm
Flood
Earthquake

*Earthquake and tsunami


Economic losses by disaster type
($ billions) 1998-2017

Total $2.9 trillion
Earthquake 661
Flood 656
Storm 1,330
Others: 8
Drought, wildfire, extreme temperature: 253


Number of disasters by category
1998-2017
Climate-related	Geophysical†

Climate-related disasters accounted for 91 percent of all 7,255 recorded events

400
300
200
100
0
1998 2005 2010 2017

†Mainly earthquakes and tsunamis


Sources: Associated Press, UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR)
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