preloader

EM-DAT Overview

More than 26,000 disaster records

EM-DAT defines disasters as situations or events which overwhelm local capacity, necessitating a request for external assistance at the national or international level. Disasters are unforeseen and often sudden events that cause significant damage, destruction, and human suffering.

The main objective of the database is to serve the purposes of humanitarian action at national and international levels. The initiative aims to rationalize decision-making for disaster preparedness and disaster risk reduction strategies, as well as provide an objective base for vulnerability assessment and priority setting.

Inclusion criteria

EM-DAT focuses on major disasters

EM-DAT globally records at the country level human and economic losses for disasters with at least one of the following criteria:

  • 10 fatalities;
  • 100 affected people;
  • a declaration of state of emergency;
  • a call for international assistance.

Disaster Classification

EM-DAT adopts a hierarchical classification

The database classifies disasters into two groups of hazards: natural and technological. The natural group is further classified up to four additional levels following the 2014 IRDR Peril Classification and Hazard Glossary. The technological group is less detailed and comprises three main types: transport, industrial, and miscellaneous accidents.

Pie Chart Classification

EM-DAT in numbers

About 2/3 of disasters in EM-DAT are related to natural hazards

>790
Drought

>1,570
Earthquake

>600
Extreme temperature

>5,750
Flood

>790
Landslide

>4,580
Storm

>270
Volcanic activity

>450
Wildfire

“We rely on EM-DAT for planning and risk analysis, crucial for our humanitarian operations.”

Danitza Haughton, IOM (Panama)

“For over 20 years, EM-DAT’s data has been invaluable to the global disaster risk reduction community.”

Yuichi Ono, IRIDeS (Japan)

“EM-DAT’s global disaster data is fundamental to our Information Management work at the IFRC.”

Hamish Patten, IFRC (Switzerland)

“EM-DAT is vital for managing disaster risks, aiding in my research on socio-economic impacts since 2007. Without EM-DAT my career would have been completely different”

Ilan Noy, Victoria University of Wellington (New Zealand)

“EM-DAT is critical to climate change research, offering unmatched data quality and fostering open science.”

Wim Thiery, VUB (Belgium)

“As a climate scientist, EM-DAT is essential for understanding the relationship between extreme weather events and impacts.”

Aglae Jezequel, LMD (France)

“EM-DAT’s comprehensive flood data is crucial for my research, enabling detailed analyses and effective flood risk management strategies.”

Albert Kettner, Colorado University (USA)

“EM-DAT remains the leading and most credible source for disasters and loss data for Africa which has informed policies at continental regional and national levels”

Dewald van Niekerk, North-West University (South-Africa)

“Thanks to EM-DAT, we can transform past disaster data into actionable plans that save lives and strengthen resilience.”

Amod Mani Dixit, National Society for Earthquake Technology (Nepal)

About us

Behind EM-DAT

A long-term expertise

The Emergency Events Database EM-DAT was created in 1988 as a joint initiative between the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) and the World Health Organization (WHO).
The CRED is now part of the Institute of Health and Society attached to the University of Louvain (UCLouvain). The EM-DAT database and project are primarily sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Host institution

CRED
UCLouvain

Primary sponsor

USAID

© CRED-IRSS-UCLouvain 2023