UN chief says natural disasters have quadrupled since 1970

UNITED NATIONS – Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says the number of natural disasters has nearly quadrupled since 1970 and the United States has experienced the most disasters since 1995 followed by China and India.

The U.N. chief told reporters Tuesday that in recent days the world has seen the "dramatic aggravation" of climate change with "unprecedented events" caused by flooding from Texas to Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Sierra Leone.

He said that last year 24.2 million people were displaced by sudden disasters — "three times as many as by conflict and violence."

Guterres said before the current floods, preliminary reports said 2,087 people died this year from natural disasters.

He said scientists say "extreme weather is precisely what their models predict will be the new normal of a warming world."