Compendium on water-related hazards and extreme weather events in Central Asia and neighbouring countries
Water-related disasters and extreme weather events are occurring with increasing frequency in Central Asia and in the countries that surround it. Floods, landslides/mudflows, droughts and earthquakes, which frequently affect the region, cause enormous economic and social damage and often lead to massive loss of human life. Extreme weather events, such as long periods of abnormally high rainfall and glacial melting, are increasingly becoming the most common cause of floods and associated water-related hazards. From 1990-2011, floods accounted for 48 per cent of the total number of disasters events that were recorded by the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED); earthquakes accounted for 22 per cent of the total number of disaster events, but killed more people. Even though droughts did not occur as frequently as floods and earthquakes, they affected nearly 60 per cent of the total number of people impacted by disasters and substantially impacted agricultural production and associated food security in the region.