MONET 2030: Fatalities caused by natural events

SDG 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere

Goal description

« […] Poverty is more than the lack of income and resources to ensure a sustainable livelihood. Its manifestations include hunger and malnutrition, limited access to education[ , security] and other basic services, social discrimination and exclusion as well as the lack of participation in decision-making. »

Swiss target 1.5: Switzerland minimises the economic, social and environmental risks related to natural disasters and climate change, protects the population, goods and essential natural resources and increases the capacity of society, the economy and the environment to adapt.

Significance of the indicator
The indicator shows the number of deaths caused by floods, debris flows, landslides, rockfall, mudflows and avalanches. The physical security of human beings is an essential need that must be satisfied. Natural hazards can endanger this security. From a sustainable development point of view, there should be no deaths caused by the above.

Help for interpretation
The indicator includes only deaths in which the persons concerned were unaware of the danger or did not expose themselves deliberately to an obvious danger. For avalanches, only deaths are shown that occurred in buildings or on roads (including open ski runs and footpaths) and not in open country. Other natural events such as lightening or hurricanes are not included here.

International comparability
This indicator cannot be compared at international level.

Synthesis

Comments: The indicator cannot be qualified due to the erratic nature of the phenomena observed.

Data on deaths caused by avalanches come from the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), which has been recording information on damages and deaths caused by avalanches since the winter of 1936/37. To calculate the indicator only deaths in built up areas , on building sites and roads (including open ski runs and footpaths) are included. Avalanche deaths away from roads or outside of built up areas , such as those of off-piste skiers or ski tourers are not included. Data are calculated per calendar year.
Data on other deaths come from the storm damage database of the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), which has kept a constant record of information on deaths and the cost of damages caused by floods, debris flows, landslides and rockfalls. Information is based mainly on reports in Swiss newspapers. Information for the period 1946-1971 was obtained retrospectively by means of research in the archives of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) newspaper, which are available in digital form. Although the NZZ is published for a German-speaking readership, its reporting covers the whole of Switzerland and it is thus assumed that events in the other linguistic regions are also covered.

WSL – Database of natural hazard fatalities in Switzerland since 1946

SLF – Avalanche fatalities

Swiss target 1.5: Switzerland minimises the economic, social and environmental risks related to natural disasters and climate change, protects the population, goods and essential natural resources and increases the capacity of society, the economy and the environment to adapt.

International target 1.5: By 2030, build the resilience of the poor and those in vulnerable situations and reduce their exposure and vulnerability to climate-related extreme events and other economic, social and environmental shocks and disasters