OREANDA-NEWS. Environmentalists record an increase in the number of natural disasters in the world. From 2000 to 2019, more than 11 thousand extreme weather events were registered in the world, as a result of which almost 480,000 people died. Material damage during this time amounted to $2.56 trillion.

The increase in the number of extreme natural events is directly related to climate change. Such conclusions were reached by experts of the environmental organization Germanwatch. «2019 will go down in history as a year of devastating hurricanes», says the organization's traditional Global Climate Risk Index, published on Monday, January 25. The analysis shows, that developing countries remain particularly vulnerable to natural disasters, such as storms, floods or droughts. But the damage from natural disasters is also growing in developed countries.

According to the rating, in 2019, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and the Bahamas were the most vulnerable to natural disasters. Japan, Malawi, Afghanistan and India also made the top ten. Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi were hit hard by the effects of tropical cyclone Idai, which became the most destructive in the western Indian Ocean in the history of meteorological observations. In the three countries, more than 1,100 people were killed, and the total damage exceeded $6 billion.

In the longterm index, which looks at the effects of extreme weather events over the past 20 years (2000-2019), Puerto Rico, Myanmar and Haiti were the hardest hit. They are followed by the Philippines, Mozambique and the Bahamas.