Monday, November 26, 2007

Disasters quadruple over last 20 years: Oxfam (Reuters)




I've had the perception this is true, but have been too lazy ass to research it.

Now Oxfam has confirmed my suspicions. Sometimes being lazy works out.
Weather-related disasters have quadrupled over the last two decades, a leading British charity said in a report published on Sunday.

From an average of 120 disasters a year in the early 1980s, there are now as many as 500, with Oxfam attributing the rise to unpredictable weather conditions cause by global warming.

"This year we have seen floods in South Asia, across the breadth of Africa and Mexico that have affected more than 250 million people," said Oxfam's director Barbara Stocking.

"This is no freak year. It follows a pattern of more frequent, more erratic, more unpredictable and more extreme weather events that are affecting more people.

Each photo above is an image of the aftermath of a Pacific typhoon that hit South Asia.

What I've not shown is the devastating mudslides that bury entire villages, killing hundreds of people.

Via Yahoo! News.

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2 Comments:

Blogger daveawayfromhome said...

Let's not forget a much larger population in the path of that weather and better communication to let us know that folks have been weatherinated.

11/27/2007 02:33:00 AM  
Blogger SPIIDERWEB™ said...

You are right of course. It should always come down to the people.

The weather is changing, but the more important point is how its changing peoples' lives and most often its the poor.

In much of Asia, the poor build "shanties" (an overstatement) which can't withstand high winds at all. So it equates to taking shelter from 120 mph (193 kph) winds in a cardboard box.

11/27/2007 10:41:00 AM  

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