Natural Disasters Cost $520 Billion a Year, World Bank Says
- Impact on people’s well-being defined by drop in consumption
- Asia-Pacific accounts for about 40% of the global tally
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Global natural disasters cost $520 billion of consumption loss annually, 60 percent larger than asset losses that are commonly reported, the World Bank said in a report.
The estimate is based on the impact of disasters such as floods, windstorms, earthquakes, and tsunamis on people’s well-being, measured by the decline in their consumption, Stephane Hallegatte, one of the authors of the report which was released on Wednesday, said in an email.