Naturkatastrofe-status for 2011: Thailand hårdest ramt af alle

Hedebølge i Californien. Verdens klimakrise har enorme sundhedsmæssige konsekvenser. Alligevel samtænkes Danmarks globale klima- og sundhedsindsats i alt for ringe grad, mener tre  debattører.


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Forfatter billede

Naturkatastrofer rundt om i verden skabte ikke blot store overskrifter i fjor, men også historie på grund af deres voldsomhed og uhyre kostbare konsekvenser, men det var ikke naturkatastrofernes holdeplads – Haiti -, der blev værst ramt.

JOHANNESBURG, 27 November 2012 (IRIN): Many of the worst natural disasters of 2011 were also the most severe the affected countries had ever experienced, revealed the Global Climate Risk Index (CRI) 2013, which was released in Doha Tuesday.

Brazil, Cambodia, El Salvador, Laos and Thailand appear in the CRI’s 10 most-affected countries; all recorded their severest natural hazards-related catastrophes last year.

Thailand is listed as 2011’s most natural disaster-affected country.

The Southeast Asian country experienced its worst flooding ever that year, triggered by the landfall of Tropical Storm Nock-ten. The flooding led to losses worth a stunning 43 billion US dollar (244 milliarder DKR), making it one of the most costly natural disasters of the world.

Floods and landslides claimed the lives of more than 1.000 people and caused almost five billion dollar in direct losses in Brazil, said the index, which is produced by the NGO Germanwatch.

El Salvador, the smallest country in Central America, appears frequently on the annual index. In 2011, extensive floods and landslides caused damages worth over 1 billion dollar.

In Cambodia, severe rainfalls resulted in the worst flooding in decades, killing about 250 people and destroying houses and rice crops.

Its neighbour Laos also experienced heavy flooding in 10 of the country’s 17 provinces; over 300.000 people were affected.

Connection to climate change

Læs videre på
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/96895/CLIMATE-CHANGE-Natural-disasters-made-history-in-2011

Se også slideshow på
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/94474/SLIDESHOW-Counting-the-cost-of-Thailand-apos-s-floods