Disasters New displacement in 2016 There were 24.2 million new displacements by disasters brought on by sudden-onset natural hazards in 118 countries and territories in 2016. They outnumbered new displacements associated with conflict and violence by more than three to one. In the nine years since 2008, 227.6 million such displacements have been recorded, or an average of 25.3 million per year. The largest events determine much of the variation in global totals from year to year. IDMC recorded 31 disaster-related displacement events that each caused at least 100,000 displacements in 2016, accounting for 86 per cent of the total. They included five very large events that each displaced between one and three million people. Unlike most other years, however, there were no mega-scale events that triggered more than three million displacements (see figure 1.13). A significant percentage of total new displacements in the context of sudden-onset disasters are usually related to planned or spontaneous evacuations, many of which present only shortterm displacement occurring in a relatively safe and orderly manner. However, in the absence of reliable reporting on returns, it is not currently possible to clearly determine the numbers, length and severity of displacement. IDMC’s global estimates cover disasters triggered by sudden-onset hydro-meteorological and climatological hazards such as floods, storms, wildfires and extreme winter conditions; and geophysical hazards such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and landslides. They do not include displacements associated with slow-onset disasters such as drought and environmental degradation. Nor do they cover those associated with technological and biological hazards, such as industrial accidents and epidemics, except when they are triggered by a natural hazard. The displacement caused by radiation exposure in Fukushima following the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in 2011 is one such example. Figure 1.13: New displacements by disasters by scale of event 9.7% 22m 31.6% 71.9m TOTAL (2008 - 2016) 227.6m 31.6% 71.9m 27.2% 61.8m Source: IDMC ON THE GRID: Global internal displacement in 2016 31