(VOVworld) - Thousands of people lost their lives due to natural calamities this year. Consequent property losses have pressurized many countries’ budget in reconstruction, which slowed down global economic growth.

Devastating flood in Peshawar, Pakistan (Photo: Reuters)

In October, the fiercest storm in the Caribbean for a decade swept through Haiti and several southwestern states in the US. In Florida, wind speed near storm center was measured at 170 kilometers per hour, killing 4 people, submerging streets and causing black-outs for a million residents. Earlier, Storm Mathew with a wind speed of 233 kilometers per hour killed about 1,000 people and displaced thousands of others from their homes in Haiti.

In August, unprecedented floods in Louisiana state, the US, killed 7 people and destroyed houses of 11,000 people. Another flood in Hubei, China, in July, and floods in Pakistan in April left huge people and property losses.

Central Italy was hit by a 6.2 Richter scale earthquake on August 24, leaving one whole town devastated. Twin-tremors in Ecuador in April measured at 7.8 on the Richter scale killed nearly 500 people and injured 3,000 others. The city of Pedernales 170 kilometers was almost flattened. The Ecuadorian government faced a repair bill of up to billions of dollars due to property losses and damage.

Earthquakes in Japan left more than 1500 casualties and damaged infrastructure in all four Japanese islands. Paralyzed traffic network caused a great impact in people’s lives.

The World Bank Report announced at the UN Climate Change Conference COP 22 in November said that natural disasters caused at least 26 million people to suffer from poverty and reduced consumption demand by 520 billion dollars this year. The World Bank said that more people would fall into poverty in the coming decades due to climate change and abnormal weather patterns. Adverse weather and climate change have been the most prominent danger to poverty reduction efforts in the years to come.