Drought originates from a deficiency of precipitation over an extended period of time, usually a season or more. This deficiency results in a water shortage for some activity, group, or environmental sector. Different from other hazards in that it develops slowly, sometimes over years, and its onset can be masked by a number of factors. Drought can be devastating: water supplies dry up, crops fail to grow, animals die and malnutrition and ill health become widespread. source: WMO
3 Feb 2012, IOL
'The [drought] season will come earlier and last longer than usual. This will leave the Sahel hugely reliant on food imports, which will have to be acquired at sky-high prices. This could spell disaster for millions of people whose food needs will rise as their purchasing power plummets'...
A dangerous delay: the cost of late response to early warnings in the 2011 drought in the Horn of Africa2012, Oxfam Intl; Save the Children UK
Climate change and disaster risk management: towards a resilient South Asia2011, CANSA
Munich Re: Worldwide distribution of natural catastrophes in 2011Jan 2012, Munich Re
Physical Exposure to Drought in Asia-PacificMay 2011, OCHA-ROAP
| Countries | People exposed per year
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | China | 71,297,700 | |
| 2 | India | 58,912,300 | |
| 3 | USA | 26,055,000 | |
| 4 | Pakistan | 11,872,500 | |
| 5 | Ethiopia | 9,342,200 | |
Source of data: 2009 Global Assessment Report |
|||
| Source of data: OFDA/CRED International Disaster Database |
External Online Resources on Drought
Find or contribute curricular, extra-curricular and public awareness materials on disaster prevention and school safety for primary, secondary, vocational, community-based education and public awareness.