World disaster figures for 2009

Preliminary figures detailing natural disasters that occurred in 2009 have been released by the UN. The data shows an alarming link between the world's changing climate, and human actions.

2009 has been an eventful year for the world's climate.

Of the 245 natural disasters so far this year, 224 were weather-related, accounting for roughly 90 percent.

They caused nearly 15-billion-US-dollars in damage, about 80-percent of the total cost.

Of the 8-thousand-9-hundred people who were killed by disasters, almost 80-percent lost their lives due to extreme weather conditions.

Experts warn mother nature's fury is unavoidable but that humans can mitigate the effects.

Michel Jarraud, Secretary-General, World Meteorological Org., said, "We cannot prevent natural hazards. You cannot stop a hurricane, you cannot stop heavy rain, you cannot stop drought, but we can make sure we provide the right information to prevent these extreme events from turning into disasters."

A man cleans outside a house next to a pile of cars in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah in November 2009.(AFP/File)