Natural disasters killed over 22,000 in 2013

Natural disasters claimed over 22,000 lives last year, with Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines the deadliest of all, the Red Cross said yesterday. In its annual report on disasters, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) put last year's overall natural disaster death toll at 22,452. That was well under the 2004-2013 average of 97,954 per year. The number of people affected by disasters in 2013 -- almost 100 million, overwhelmingly in Asia -- was also the lowest in a decade.