The European Crisis Management Laboratory (ECML) Mapping Team, at the Joint Research Centre (JRC), supports the Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) with critical information. The team works on a daily basis with the ERCC’s analytical team to co-design, and to draft on their behalf, daily situational awareness products (ECHO Daily Flash and ECHO Daily Maps) and on-demand products (ECHO Situation Maps/Infographics), to support the ERCC in understanding and responding to natural disasters and crises.
This document is a bi-annual report, covering the period July to December 2024, which aims to provide insights into the frequency and impact of natural disasters and crises worldwide (the previous issue, covering the period January to June 2024, is available). A paragraph that describes the overview of natural disaster and crisis for the whole 2024 is also reported.
The analysis shows that meteorological-related events, including floods, tropical cyclones, severe weather, and landslides, are the most common type of disaster, accounting for 84.4% of all recorded events. Floods are the most common type, accounting for 34% of reported events, followed by tropical cyclone (18%), severe weather (16%) and landslides (16%). Wildfires were well represented with the 9% of the total events, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions both 2.6%, snow avalanches, tsunamis, and heat waves account for less than 1%.
The report also examines the distribution of event types on situation maps, which summaries the overall situation in countries, regions, or continents over extended periods. These maps help to identify complex interactions between different events. Resources, which includes ECHO Partners' funding allocations, account for 40% of all reported events, followed by Complex Emergency (26.4%), population displacement (16.9%), food security (4.6%).
The spatial distribution of event types on these maps shows that Complex Emergencies are the predominant type across Africa, particularly in the Great Horn of Africa, Niger, Cameroon, as well as Sudan. These maps often refer to events like population displacement, food insecurity, and conflicts. The ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the resulting humanitarian crisis have also led to the presence of Complex Emergency in this country.