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Climate disasters to affect 375m by 2015: Oxfam

By Jianggan Li | 22 April 2009

Natural disasters caused by climate change are expected to expect 375 million people by 2015, according to international aid group Oxfam.

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This will represent a 54 per cent increase, which Oxfam believes could overwhelm the current emergency response mechanism. The organisation called for urgent reforms to the ‘outdated and unfair humanitarian system’.

The Oxfam report, entitled The Right to Survive which launched on Tuesday, is based on data on 6500 climate-related disasters recorded since 1980. It records the effect of the increasing trend of drought, floods and food shortages.

“In Asia we anticipate longer dry spells and shorter, more concentrated incidence of rain fall causing … flash floods and crop damage,” said Bert Maerten, Oxfam’s global climate change expert.

The organisation urged Asian governments to put aside budgets to help the poor adapt and prepare for an increase in climate-related disasters in coming years.

Oxfam’s East Asia Director Sarah Ireland also called on the international donor community to commit up to US$42 billion “to cope with this increasing trend.”

“The message we are trying to get across is that we need to act now,” Ireland said in Bangkok. “We need to prioritize preparedness, disaster reduction and adaptation strategies.”