Kuala Lumpur: Over the last two years, the world has faced 300 to 500 calamities of medium or strong intensity. Although this itself is unnerving, the calamities will increase significantly by 2030. Two days ago, the United Nations warned that the world would face nearly 560 calamities per year within the next three or four years. In its biennial report, the United Nations warned that these would not be only natural calamities, but the proportion of calamities like pandemics and chemical accidents will increase.
The report has been presented by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) group. The UNDRR has cited the report presented by the UN-supported Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change. Besides, a warning had been issued a few weeks ago that the intensity of heat, famines and floods will increase given the climate change. UNDRR also has said in its report that climate change will be responsible for most of the calamities.
Mami Mizutori, Head of UNDRR, has clarified at the beginning of the report, ‘Making everyone aware of the presentation of truth is necessary, but it is also important.’ The repeated and increasing calamities have claimed or affected innumerable lives. Mizutorui warned that more than 100 million people will be pushed into poverty by 2030 due to the calamities during this period.
The report expresses concerns over the effects these calamities will have on countries’ economies. The UNDRR report notes, ‘In the last decade, calamities have caused a loss of nearly $170 billion per year. The developing countries and their poor populations are the worst hit by these. The economies of the countries in the Indo-Pacific sector have taken the biggest hit of these calamities.’
UNDRR cited the cyclone that hit Indonesia last December for this. Indonesia has still not recovered from the dreadful effects of the cyclone. The cyclone claimed more than 300 lives. UNDRR reminded that hundreds of thousands were displaced and the cyclone caused a loss of $500 million to Indonesia.
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