Preparing for Natural Disasters Will Cost $50 Billion a Year

Natural disasters have, over the past decade, cost the world $600 billion, and global warming will make that already high cost increase further, according to a new analysis by Tearfund, a U.K. relief and development agency. The human toll has been 443,000 people, and another 2.5 billion affected, according to Chinese state-run media.

The group says it will cost $50 billion a year going forward if the world is to help vulnerable communities prepare for the coming disasters.

The humanitarian crisis in Bangladesh, where 3,200 people died and 8.5 million were affected by Cyclone Sidr last month, can be viewed as a harbinger of things to come. The low-lying nation is among the most susceptible to the ravages of climate change, as flooding, sea-level rise and possibly stronger tropical storms conspire.

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