Facts About Natural Disasters & How They Impact Children

Key Facts About Natural Disasters You Should Know

Thousands of natural disasters happen around the world every year, including floods, droughts, earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, tornadoes, volcanic eruptions and wildfires. The most common type of natural disaster is flooding, which affects millions of people worldwide each year.

Here are some other key facts about natural disasters to know:

• Natural disasters claim the lives of approximately 40,000 to 50,000 people per year globally. Millions of other people are displaced or left homeless, especially in lower-income countries.

• Data shows that deaths from disasters have fallen significantly in the last century. This is due to better warning systems, stronger infrastructure and improved response.

• According to the most recent data, natural disasters impacted 167.2 million people globally in 2024 alone, primarily driven by extreme temperatures in Asia, severe droughts in Africa and tropical storms in the United States and the Caribbean.

• In 2025, some of the disasters that impacted the most people included the Los Angeles wildfires, Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica and record-breaking flooding from cyclones and monsoons in Asia.

• According to the World Health Organization (WHO), between 80-90% of documented natural disasters in the past 10 years were floods, droughts, tropical cyclones, heat waves and severe storms.

Flooding in Indonesia. Photo by: Compassion Team

5 Ways Natural Disasters Impact Children’s Lives

One of the most jarring facts about natural disasters is this: Children are the most vulnerable. According to UNICEF, right now one billion children worldwide are endangered by climate-related disasters. Let’s explore why.

1. Injury & Illness

Children’s smaller bodies and developing immune systems place them at a higher risk for severe injuries and infections. For example, debris and collapsed structures can lead to injuries like broken bones, cuts and burns.

Illness is also common. Flooding, for example, increases the risk of waterborne diseases like cholera and salmonella, which can lead to dehydration and other dangerous effects. Not being able to get clean water, food and medical care after a disaster worsens the physical impacts.

2. Loss of Stability & Shelter

Natural disasters can quickly decimate homes, leaving children without shelter. Children are often forced to stay in overcrowded shelters or makeshift outdoor spaces, exposing them to illness and the elements.

These same little ones may also be separated from their caregivers or lose them entirely. Sadly, this leaves children at risk of exploitation, neglect and emotional distress. Separation and displacement can last weeks, months or even years, creating deep and lasting instability and trauma.

Cyclone Freddy struck Malawi in 2023, leaving Elita and her family without a home. Photo by: Luke Tembo

3. Reduced Access to Food & Water

Damage to crops and livestock. Washed away roads stopping delivery trucks. Floodwaters contaminating water sources. Overwhelmed food banks. Loss of homes and livelihoods.

All these things make it incredibly difficult for a child to find food and safe water after natural disasters. And without these necessities, children may suffer from malnutrition, dehydration and disease at a time when their bodies are most vulnerable.

Sadly, these effects can delay physical development and cause ongoing health complications — impacts that can last a lifetime.

4. Interrupted Education

Schools may collapse or flood, or they may need to be used as temporary shelters, preventing children from attending for extended periods. These interruptions widen learning gaps and hinder children’s progress. Studies show that some disasters can even increase school dropout rates.

Interrupted education can prevent children from building important skills that empower them to reach their full potential as adults. Without these, they may struggle to find stable employment when they’re older, making it hard for them to provide for themselves and their families.

5. Lasting Trauma

In the chaos of natural disasters, children witness scary scenes, lose their homes or become separated from the people they trust. This fear, instability and trauma can leave deep emotional scars, affecting their sleep, learning, decision-making, confidence and mental well-being long after the disaster.

Children in Poverty Are Hit the Hardest

The above impacts hit children living in poverty the hardest. Take a moment to put yourself in an impoverished child’s shoes when they’re facing disaster.

Your home is built out of cardboard, scrap wood and other materials that won’t withstand a disaster. Serious injury and displacement are almost a guarantee.

Your family can’t afford medical care. One broken bone may lead to lifelong pain, and getting sick could easily mean you’ll lose your life.

You already struggle daily to find food and safe water. Losing the little you have will mean a gnawing belly for who knows how long.

Your family will need your help to survive, so you’ll need to look for food and water instead of going to school. Any hope of a future beyond poverty will be further out of reach.

While it might be hard to believe, this is a reality for millions of children living in poverty around the world. And it’s why Compassion focuses on serving these children, the least of the least of these.

How Compassion Works to Protect & Care for Children

While Compassion International is not primarily a disaster relief organization, we are a Christian ministry dedicated to releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name. To do that, we must provide critical protection and care in the moments the children we serve need it most, including before and after a disaster.

So, how does Compassion respond?

• By preparing local churches, families and communities: Through our child sponsorship program, as well as initiatives like WaSH (water, sanitation and hygiene), we help local churches build resiliency within their communities. For example, through sponsorship, children get medical checkups and receive the nutritious food they need, protecting them from malnutrition and disease. And through WaSH, we equip communities with the infrastructure needed to ensure they can consistently access critical resources like clean water and sanitation facilities. These programs keep families healthier and less vulnerable to injury and disease while also ensuring communities have the systems needed to bounce back faster.

• Supporting response and recovery: When disaster strikes, our local church partners immediately alert our national offices. Designated first responders then work to deliver supplies like food packs and temporary shelters. Even after the disaster, we provide ongoing physical, mental and emotional care to the children in those communities. And we walk alongside families, helping them rebuild houses, restore livelihoods and find hope again.

Heavy rainfall triggered severe floods and landslides in Rwanda, leaving 9-year-old Esther and her family without a home. With Compassion’s help, they were able to rent a safe place to stay. Photo by: Doreen Umutesi

You Can Help Provide Critical Relief to Children in Need

When crisis hits in a community Compassion serves, local churches act quickly, protecting children from further harm.

You can help us equip these local churches to do just that by donating to our Disaster Relief Fund. Through your support, they can respond right away to meet immediate and critical needs, such as food, clean water, safe shelter and medical care.