In Ten Worst-hit Countries, Increasing Floods And Drought Have Forced People To Flee 8 Million Times Last Year

On World Refugee Day, Oxfam says that in five of those countries, levels of severe hunger have nearly tripled over the same period.  

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.  

Climate change has increased the intensity and frequency of floods and droughts. According to data collated by Oxfam, recorded flood and drought disasters in those ten worst-hit countries have skyrocketed from just 24 in 2013, to 656 last year. Somalia alone was hit by 223 different flood or drought events in 2023 against just two in 2013, for instance. The Philippines was hit 74 times (compared to just three in 2013), Brazil 79 times compared to four, and Malaysia 127 times compared to just once in 2013.  

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

Oxfam calculated that in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Kenya, Pakistan, and Somalia – 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. 

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. Despite accounting for less than 0.03% of global carbon emissions, the country has suffered billions worth of losses due to recurring floods and droughts. Recovering from the last December floods alone was estimated at $230 million.  

The last Deyr rainy season -which followed five consecutive seasons of drought -has brought massive flooding, forcing 1.2 million people to flee their homes and killing 118 people. These disasters have compounded the impact of ongoing conflict, political instability, and economic shocks, leaving almost half of Somalia’s population in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.