Floods and droughts forced people to flee 8m times in worst-hit countries last year – number doubled in decade

Water-related disasters forced people to flee their homes eight million times in 10 of the world’s worst-hit countries last year - a 120% increase compared to a decade ago, Oxfam said on World Refugee Day.

Somalia, China, Philippines, Pakistan, Kenya, Ethiopia, India, Brazil, Bangladesh and Malaysia topped the list of countries that suffered the largest displacement of people from floods and droughts last year, according to the Global Internal Displacement Database. In those countries, the number of times people were displaced from their homes soared from 3.5 million in 2013 to 7.9 million in 2023 while recorded flood and drought disasters have skyrocketed from just 24 in 2013 to 656 last year.

In five of those countries, levels of severe hunger have nearly tripled over the same period.  Oxfam calculated that in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Kenya, Pakistan and Somalia – which are among the least prepared to cope with the impact of climate change - the number of people suffering acute hunger has risen from 14 million in 2013 to over 55 million in 2023.

While the intensity and frequency of floods and droughts has increased as a result of climate change, wealthy countries have failed to ensure that climate financing keeps pace.

Natalie Shortall, Climate Justice Policy Adviser at Oxfam GB, said: “Across the world, it is the people living in poverty and facing marginalisation – who are also those least responsible for the climate crisis – who are bearing the brunt of its consequences. Inexcusably, rich polluting nations continue to fail to provide the assistance they need. The UK must ensure that it fulfils and goes beyond its climate finance commitments, and it must do this without further repackaging existing Official Development Assistance (ODA) funds."

The UK government reported spending around £1.8bn on climate finance in 2023 - an increase on previous years, but only after relabeling existing aid. The accounting changes - which include automatically counting 30 per cent of all humanitarian aid to the most climate vulnerable countries, and a portion of the UK's "core" contributions to Multilateral Development Banks as climate finance - failed to increase the resources available to lower-income countries. Even after this accounting sleight of hand, years of stalling on its climate finance pledge mean the next Government will need to significantly ramp up its climate finance by 2026 to meet the UK’s £11.6bn commitment.

According to data collated by Oxfam, the Philippines was hit 74 times by flood and drought disasters last year, compared to just three in 2013, Brazil 79 times compared to four, and Malaysia 127 times compared to just once in 2013.

Somalia alone was hit by 223 different flood or drought events in 2023 against just two in 2013. Despite accounting for less than 0.03 per cent of global carbon emissions, the country has suffered billions worth of losses due to recurring floods and droughts. The cost of recovering from the last December floods alone was estimated at $230 million.

Globally, floods and droughts forced 3.4 million people out of their homes just last year – as many as the entire population of Uruguay.

Oxfam said that with proper funding, the most impacted nations could develop early warning systems and other measures to prepare for and mitigate the effects of climate change, and invest in social protection to help people cope with climate-induced loss and damage.

Natalie Shortall said: “Rich nations, like the UK, must take the lead in reducing their emissions and providing adequate climate finance to countries most impacted, so they can cope better and rebuild after climate shocks. This includes urgently injecting new and additional funding into the new loss and damage fund. This is not a gesture of goodwill but redress for the damage they have caused.”

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Contact: Zara Sarvarian, Press Officer Oxfam GB/ zsarvarian1@oxfam.org.uk, 07584265077

Notes to Editors

• Country case studies:

In Somalia, continuous temperature rise (1.5°C, up from 1°C in 1991) has resulted in more frequent and prolonged droughts, often followed by flash floods and cyclones. The last Deyr rainy season - which followed five consecutive seasons of drought - brought massive flooding in Somalia, forcing 1.2 million people to flee their homes and killing 118 people.

Hassan Mohamed, a displaced father in Baidoa, Somalia, said: “I lost all my animals to the drought. I fled on foot with my children, and it took me three days to get to Baidoa. It was a difficult journey. I had no food or water for my children. Some got sick along the way.”

In Bangladesh, unpredictable cyclones and other water-related disasters forced more than 1.8 million people to leave their homes in 2023. The disastrous events caused severe damage to infrastructure like schools, markets and other essential services. The country contributes only 0.56% of global carbon emissions.

Asgor Kha and Moriom who live in Lebubunia village of Satkhira, Bangladesh say: “We have lost our homes four times due to cyclones. We are still in debt for having taken a house loan.”

• Pictures, video footage and interviews are available on request
• Oxfam ranked the 10 countries with the largest water-disasters displacement based on the number of forced internal displacements (people can be displaced multiple times) by “floods” and “droughts” during the period (2013-2023) according to the Global Internal Displacement Database (GIDD). The total number of displacements in those 10 countries combined was 3,588,827 in 2013 and 7,909,369 in 2023, which is 120.38% increase. Source: Global Internal Displacement Database (GIDD)
• According to GIDD, last year 3.4 million people were displaced by droughts and floods. Source: GIDD
• According to the Global Internal Displacement Database (GIDD) data, out of the total 259.9 million internally displaced due to all types of disasters during the period 2013-2023, 109.9 million people were internally displaced due to floods alone, which is 42.31% of all disasters fuelled displacement.
• Oxfam calculated hunger rates for Bangladesh, Kenya, Pakistan and Somalia based on the Acute Food Insecurity Classification (IPC) in 2013, and on 2023 IPC data of the 2024 Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC). For Ethiopia, data was based on Government of Ethiopia estimates for acute hunger for 2013, and the GRFC 2024 for 2023.
• The ND-GAIN Country Index summarizes a country's vulnerability to climate change and other global challenges, as well as, its readiness to improve resilience. Somalia, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Kenya, and Pakistan are among the lowest-ranked countries in that index.
• The Deyr season in Somalia, is the second, shorter rainy season between October and December) every year.
• Somalia’s carbon emissions figures are based on IGAD 15th Progress Report of the Resilience Project in Somalia.
• Somalia’s Loss and Damage data are based on the “Rapid post-disaster needs assessment of Somalia Deyr floods 2023" report and the World Bank’s “Somalia Drought Impact & Needs Assessment” report.
• Since the 1970s, 44% of all disaster events have been flood-related. Source: IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report.
• Bangladesh contributes only 0.56 per cent to global greenhouse gas emissions, it ranks the seventh most vulnerable nation to the impacts of climate change. Source: UN Bangladesh  Energy Transition and ND Gain Index
• In 2023, approximately 1.8 million people were internally displaced in Bangladesh due to floods, cyclones and other storm related events. Source: GIDD as of June 1 2024
• The estimated amount of climate finance spent by the UK government in 2023 is taken from analysis by Carbon Brief and is based on an FOI request - Analysis: UK climate aid reaches record £1.8bn in 2023 after loosening rules - Carbon Brief