Disasters By The Numbers

An amazing look at Earth's natural disasters as seen through numbers, facts, and stunning infographics from Caldecott Honor-winning author-illustrator Steve Jenkins! From Caldecott Honor-winning author-illustrator Steve Jenkins comes an in-depth look at the world's natural disasters, broken down into four distinct categories: earth, weather, life, and space. From timelines of causes and outcomes of each disaster, graphs highlighting humans' effect on the earth, and a text teeming with fresh, unexpected, and accurate information ready for readers to easily devour, Disasters by the Numbers is unmatched and sure to wow fans old and new.

Over the last 30 years, 6,367 natural disasters killed more than 2 million people. A cumulative total of 5.1 billion individuals were affected, of which 182 million were left homeless.These same disasters caused US$1.4 trillion worth of damages. Data on natural disasters and their impact on populations and economies play an essential role in understanding the factors that increase human vulnerability and the importance of disaster preparedness, mitigation and prevention.

"Through infographics and illustrations readers will learn about the world of insects. With numbers, facts, and figures, discover some of the aspects of the animals that outnumber us humans on the planet: bugs!"--

"How old is the earth? Where is the ice three miles thick? Why are volcanoes so dangerous? Where are the wettest and driest spots on the planet? Find the answers to these questions--and many more--in Earth by the numbers."--

Disasters can cause long-term disruptions to the routines of individuals and communities, placing survivors at risk of developing serious mental health and substance abuse problems. Disaster behavioral health services provide emotional support, help normalize stress reactions, assess recovery options, and encourage healthy coping behaviors. They al

The last twenty years has seen the number of major floods more than double, from 1,389 to 3,254, while the incidence of storms grew from 1,457 to 2,034. Floods and storms were the most prevalent events. The report “The Human Cost of Disasters 2000-2019” also records major increases in other categories including drought, wildfires and extreme temperature events. There has also been a rise in geo-physical events including earthquakes and tsunamis which have killed more people than any of the other natural hazards under review in this report.

Disaster response has been described as the last resort of the amateur: an unkind assessment but not without a grain of truth. Disaster generates an emotional response, and new disaster organisations are born with each new disaster. Lessons of the past on disaster management have to be learned anew. The need to increase the professionalism of disaster response is evident. All the more so as, in disaster terms, the world is getting worse, not better. Disasters become more complex, frequently involving the interaction of a disaster event, politics and technology. The last few years have also seen a growth in research into the area of disaster response. Too often, however, disaster researchers and disaster organisations have gone their separate ways. There is a need for these two groups to get together to devise more practical and professional approaches to disaster response. The "World Disasters Report," produced by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies with the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters, is a contribution to this effort of professionalisation. It provides facts and statistics, analysis and an exploration of trends, to dispel a number of myths about disasters and to define and advocate good practice. This is the first volume of Annual Reports which will become a vital tool for all those involved in the area of disaster response.

This book examines how to ensure that the preventive measures are worthwhile and effective, and how people can make decisions individually and collectively at different levels of government.