Disasters moved a record of 46 million people last year
In 2024, disasters displaced a record number of people worldwide and in the United States, about 11 million US residents had to move to another part of the country due to hurricanes, floods and forest fires
Aerial view of the houses destroyed in Port St Lucie, Florida, after a tornado hit the area and fell serious damage when Hurricane Milton swept Florida on October 11, 2024.
Miguel J. Rodríguez Carrillo/AFP through Getty Images
Climatewire | Natural disasters and human conflict forced some 66 million people to flee within their own countries last year, and the United States led to all nations 11 million of these internal displacements, according to new research.
That is a record for the United States. And last year he also broke a global record, since 2024 saw the largest number of internal displacements related to disaster since experts began tracking the problem in 2008. Around 46 million people worldwide had relocated in the country last year or the naturists; Another 20 million had to flee for conflict or violence.
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IMDC publishes the findings of the previous year in an annual report each spring; His last analysis was released on Tuesday.
The 46 million people forced to relocate in the country due to natural disasters last year repeat a great leap since 2023, which saw 26 million people displaced internally because or events such as storms, floods, forest fires and droughts. In the United States, natural disasters were the only reason why 11 million residents had to relocate in the country.
Cyclones activated more than half or movements related to disaster worldwide last year. That includes Hurricanes Helene and Milton, which caused tens of billions of dollars in the United States. Floods represented another 42 percent of disaster displacements, with events that occur in each continent last year.
At least 8.3 million movements related to disaster occurred in the form of previous evacuations, according to the report. Evacuations were reported in 53 of the 163 countries and territories that reported climatic and disaster displacements in 2024. Many of these occurred in the United States; Hurricane Milton only caused around 6 million evacuations in Florida.
Climate change is causing extreme climatic events to intensify worldwide. At the same time, the report points out, other human factors are generating the impact of these disasters, including inadequate infrastructure and urban expansion in disaster prone areas.
Low and medium -sized countries, in general, continuous to be disproportionately affected by disaster displacements. And vulnerable communities within the thesis country tend to experience the results of sausages.
For example, catastrophic floods in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul last spring killed more than 180 people and caused at least 775,000 displacements. The majority occurred in the state capital of Porto Alegre, according to the IDMC report, and the black and indigenous communities were described.
At the same time, conflict zones overlap more and more with areas beaten by natural disasters, many worsen for climate change. According to the report, the number of countries that report disaster and conflict displacements have been tripled since 2009.
The increase in these compound crises points to the need for better preparation and resilience, the report suggests.
“Solving displacement requires immediate efforts to help people who have lost everything and investments to address the underlying vulnerabilities, so that people are not displaced in the first place,” said IDMC director Alexandra Bilak.
The report discovered that more than 20 million people in 49 countries were internally displaced by conflict and violence last year. All but four of these countries also reported disaster displacements.
More than 5 million conflict displacements occurred in the Democratic Republic of Congo, most of any country worldwide. Heavy rains also caused intense floods in the RDC last year, and many roads were blocked by water or armed groups. The combination of these problems prevented help organizations from helping hundreds of thousands of displaced people, according to the report.
The report also indicates that, although some people can return home after disasters or the decrease in the conflict, many remain displaced for years. Around 65.8 million people were freshly displaced in 2024 for conflicts and disasters. But millions of others already lived in displacement at the beginning of the year.
At the end of 2024, around 83.4 million people lived in displacement worldwide. The vast majority, around 73.5 million, had been forced to move because the conflict, a 10 percent increase with respect to the previous year.
Even so, disaster -related displacement is increasing equally faster. Around 9.8 million people worldwide lived in the displacement of disasters at the end of 2024, a 29 percent increase over 2023.
Reprint of E&E news With permission from politician, LLC. Copyright 2025. E&E News provides essential news for energy and environment professionals.
