Historical Hazards
FSM is particularly vulnerable to climate change and likely to suffer serious, adverse environmental, social and economic consequences. Indeed, it is already suffering from negative impacts associated with climate change, (e.g. saltwater intrusion from rising sea-levels damaging crops and freshwater supplies, increase in extreme weather events). Limited infrastructure, geographic remoteness and dependence on US aid exacerbate the country's vulnerability. FSM is particularly vulnerable to sea-level rise and an increase in extreme weather events such as storm surges given that the majority of its population, infrastructure and cultural sites are based in coastal areas. Furthermore, it is vulnerable to long dry spells resulting from El Niño South Oscillation (ENSO).
This section provides a summary of key natural hazards and their associated socioeconomic impacts in a given country. And it allows quick evaluation of most vulnerable areas through the spatial comparison of natural hazard data with development data, thereby identifying exposed livelihoods and natural systems.
The charts provide overview of the most frequent natural disaster in a given country and understand the impacts of those disasters on human populations.
Metadata
Climate change is now recognized to have a significant impact on disaster management efforts and pose a significant threat to the efforts to meet the growing needs of the most vulnerable populations. The demands of disaster risk management are such that concise, clear, and reliable information is crucial. The information presented here offers insight into the frequency, impact and occurrence of natural hazards. Source (PDF)