In April, forest fires consumed the colorful port city of Valparaiso in Chile. This disaster resulted in the deaths of 16 people and the destruction of approximately 2,000 homes. An estimated 756 hectares were destroyed and 10,000 people had to be evacuated. Tremendous amounts of resources have been spent trying to put out these fires, and today even more are being used to rebuild Valparaiso. This demonstrated once again the ability of natural disasters to wreak havoc in towns or cities that have done nothing wrong. It also raised the key question of how to minimize the damage caused by them. In 2012, 357 natural disasters were recorded, 9,655 people were killed and 124.5 million people were victims worldwide. Research and statistics have shown that over the past decade, India, Indonesia, China, the United States of America and the Philippines have been the most affected countries. What is important to note is that of the top ten countries in terms of disaster mortality in 2012, six are classified as low or lower middle income countries. In 2012, Asia accounted for 64.5% of global disaster victims, followed by Africa (30.4%). Compared to annual averages for the period 2002-2011, the number of victims in 2012 increased in Africa and Oceania, but decreased in the Americas and Europe. This further focuses attention on countries that are not as strong economically as they are that are facing most of the problems. While richer countries continue to accumulate the technology needed to deal with disasters, it is the poorer countries that suffer and need help. The estimated economic damage in 2012 was approximately $157 billion. Natural disasters be they earthquakes, tornadoes......middle of paper......natural disasters have increased since 2013 from 332 to 357. However, there has been a reduction in the number of victims in the world from 244, 7 million to 124.5 million people. This shows enormous progress. However, the number of people affected is still enormous. Furthermore, with the population increasing significantly every year and more people moving to disaster-prone areas, the risk of much larger disasters occurring this year and in the foreseeable future increases. The recent Uttarkashi floods that once again hit the north-eastern part of India and claimed the lives of thousands of people is an example of how natural disasters can damage densely populated regions. It is therefore clear that at the next UNEP meeting we will have to decide not only how to prevent natural disasters, but also what to do with people living in areas prone to natural disasters..