Children affected by Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar.

The trend over the last three decades shows a sharp increase in the number and frequency of natural disasters significantly increasing in the number of affected populations.  In 2005, the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) reported 360 natural disasters killed over 90,000 people and affected more than 150 million lives. In 2006, CRED reported 395 natural disasters (226 floods) with 21,342 deaths and over 134.5 million people affected. Unfortunately, experts expect this trend to continue; particularly global warming, which is likely to create more 'extreme' weather events.

Developing countries are hardest hit by natural disasters with research showing that natural disasters are a major threat to sustainable development. The imbalance in impact between developed and developing countries is due partly to geography — geography creates highly hazard-prone environments in the Philippines and Indonesia where these countries experience regular volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, cyclones (typhoons), tsunamis, landslides and floods. Geography does not explain the disparity alone, the United States also experiences most of the above; therefore, the resilience of a country's economy, society and institutions must be taken into account as well.

Research has shown that in general, it is the weaker groups in society that suffer worst from disasters, especially the poor, the very young and the very old, women, the disabled and those marginalized by ethnicity or race. In many developing countries, economic pressures force people to live in cheap but dangerous locations, such as flood plains and unstable hillsides, increasing their vulnerability to natural disasters. The increasing concentration of the world's population in towns and cities, many in hazardous locations such as earthquake zones, for example Katmandu, could lead to many more major urban disasters.

2006 Flooding in Bolivia: A boat loaded with emergency food, Save the Children staff and volunteers makes its way across the river for distribution.

Additionally, there is an increased frequency in smaller localized disasters. In 2006, CRED reported 226 occurrences of floods compared to an average of 162 over the past six years. Floods and storms in particular are two major events that have dramatic and long-term effects on people. Increasingly research is showing that the cumulative impact of smaller, local events triggered by natural hazards may in some countries be greater than that of the smaller number of larger events that are "formally" recorded as disasters.

With the frequency of smaller and medium sized crisis increasing, agencies such as Save the Children, need to maintain a high level of agility and adaptability during disasters, particularly at the local level. Focus on just responding to large-scale disasters will no longer suffice. To succeed in this, Save the Children is investing more time and resources to identify and prioritize resources in high-prone countries such as Indonesia, Afghanistan, Haiti, and Ethiopia that regularly experience natural hazards and preparing for disasters at the country level before they occur. Effective emergency preparedness consists of the collection of information, analysis, and planning necessary to minimize loss of life and physical damage in cases of disasters.

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