Costliest climate disasters of 2023, highlight serious risks for poor countries

• A study ranked the 20 most expensive climate disasters of the year.
• Costs ranged from over $4,000 per person in Hawaii to $9 in Peru.
• Floods, cyclones, and droughts affected millions in countries that contribute little to climate change.
• Even populous countries like the USA, China, Mexico, Spain, and Italy experienced costly disasters.

A new study of the 20 most expensive climate disasters in 2023 shows a “global lottery” that is unfair to the people with low-income, as the economic impact of these disasters varies greatly from country to country.

The charity Christian Aid published this study in their report “Counting the Cost 2023: A year of climate breakdown”. They warn that more funding for climate issues is urgently needed, including money for early warning systems and immediate action.

Expensive disasters in 2023

The list of the 20 most expensive disasters in 2023 includes 14 different countries. Some countries are more likely to experience disasters due to their size, location, or other factors.

The study found that the wildfires in Hawaii in August had the highest cost per person of any natural disaster. On average, these wildfires cost over $4,000 per person. This is much more than the second most costly disaster per person, the storms in Guam in May, which cost almost $1,500 per person. The average cost per person for all 20 disasters was over $400.

Christian Aid points out that disasters are worse in countries that can’t cope with them because their homes aren’t strong enough, many people work in agriculture which is vulnerable to extreme weather, and the government doesn’t invest enough in prevention or rebuilding.

Cyclone Freddy, which is on the list, hit Malawi in 2023. Mofolo Chikaonda, a 69-year-old widow from southern Malawi, said the worst thing about Cyclone Freddy was that it destroyed the only house they had worked hard to build.

In just 45 days, Christian Aid’s partners were able to help 2,500 families. They provided things like mosquito nets to protect against malaria, mobile clinics for emotional support, sanitation, and cash.

Costliest climate disasters in 2023

Poor countries suffer more deaths and slower recovery

Rich countries that have the resources to prepare for and adapt to extreme weather events are in a better position than poor countries. Poor countries often don’t have the infrastructure to withstand these events or the money to recover afterwards.

In these countries, more people usually die in these events and it takes longer to recover. What’s worse is that the countries that are most affected by extreme weather events are the ones that contribute the least to global warming.

The cost per person of this year’s disasters varied a lot. It was over $4,000 for those affected by the wildfires in Maui in August. These fires caused 181 deaths, forced more than 7,000 people to leave their homes, and cost about $6 billion in total.

On the other hand, the floods in Peru in April only cost $9 per person. Other notable disasters include the storm in Guam in May, which affected over 60% of the population and cost about $1,455 per person, and the floods in Libya in September caused by Storm Daniel. These floods killed more than 11,000 people and forced more than 1 million people, or over 10% of the country’s population, to leave their homes.

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