Dawn
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05:56 Apr 21, 2026
ISLAMABAD: The year 2025 saw 358 natural hazard-related disasters, resulting in over 16,000 fatalities, affecting 110.2 million people and causing $169.68 billion in economic losses, according to Emergency Events Database maintained by the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (Cred) at one of the oldest universities in Europe. The Cred at the University of Louvain in Belgium provides data on significant disasters to support research, humanitarian action, evidence-based decision-making in disaster preparedness and response, and disaster risk reduction. The database also helps assess community vulnerability and inform policy priorities. Asia accounted for a disproportionately large share of disaster-related deaths, due largely to major earthquakes in Myanmar and Afghanistan. The year was also marked by a record-breaking drought in Syria, which left 80 per cent of the population in need of assistance; and by the Palisades and Eaton Fires, which ranked among the costliest wildfires ever recorded, ...