2024 Disasters in numbers

The report provides a global overview of natural hazard-related disasters recorded in 2024, based on data from the EM-DAT database. It quantifies the human, social, and economic impacts of these events, focusing on mortality, number of people affected, and economic losses. The report also serves to inform and support disaster risk reduction (DRR) efforts globally, helping policymakers, humanitarian organizations, and researchers understand emerging trends, vulnerabilities, and the effectiveness of current preparedness strategies.

In 2024, 393 disasters caused 16,753 deaths, affected over 167 million people, and resulted in nearly US$242 billion in damages. The year was marked by severe climate-linked events, including deadly heat waves in Asia and the USA, catastrophic flooding in Africa and Europe, and destructive tropical storms across Southeast Asia and the Americas. Droughts in Africa and Brazil added to widespread food and water insecurity. Notably, 2024 had fewer fatalities than the historical average, largely due to the absence of mass-casualty events like major earthquakes or tsunamis. The report underscores climate change as a driver of disaster frequency and intensity, emphasizing the growing need for comprehensive risk management and early warning systems.