2008 - the year of the disaster

An international insurance company, Munich Re, has said that 2008 has been one of the worst years for natural disasters. A string of floods, tsunami, earthquakes and hurricanes has led to £137bn in financial losses and more than 220,000 deaths. It is thought that climate change has led to an exacerbation of certain hazards, particularly flooding and weather-related events such as hurricanes. The worst single events of the year have been the Chinese earthquake that left 70,000 dead and the Burmese cyclone Nargis that killed 130,000.