A global trend towards increasing weather-related disasters was confirmed in 2008, the second deadliest year in the past decade for natural catastrophes, this year's World Disasters Report by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societiessaid.

Here are some highlights from the report:

DISASTERS BY NUMBERS

* Last year marked the second-highest death toll from natural disasters in a decade, after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Cyclone Nargis, which devastated parts of Myanmar in May, left 138,366 people dead, missing or presumed dead, while the Sichuan earthquake killed 87,476 people in China in the same month. Together they accounted for 93 percent of the global toll in 2008.

* The number of people who lost their homes and livelihoods and were otherwise affected by natural disasters was 213 million - roughly on par with other years but below the decade average of 270 million.

EARLY WARNING - WINS AND LOSSES

* Around the world, the most common method of relaying warnings of impending disasters is through messages broadcast on radio or television. However, many of the poorest people own neither. It can be difficult getting warnings to the tourists who may be visiting the hurricane-prone Caribbean, the tsunami-threatened Mediterranean or one of the world's many earthquake zones.

* In many cyclone-prone areas, people may ignore warnings because shelters are too far away or they do not have the means to escape. One of reasons why Hurricane Katrina caused such a major disaster was that poor communities in New Orleans could not afford the transport to flee their homes.

* About three-quarters of all tsunami warnings in the Pacific Ocean are false alarms, making it difficult to maintain the credibility of the warning systems.

* Experts say the Mediterranean region is actually more vulnerable to tsunamis than the Indian Ocean, with 10 percent of all tsunamis occurring there - yet there is no operational early warning system. With 140 million people living in coastal areas, large numbers of tourists and high population density in parts of the Mediterranean, a major tsunami could have devastating consequences.

* Traditional ways of predicting a potential disaster could work alongside warnings captured by satellites. For example, in Mozambique, downstream communities look at the colour of the river water, and size and type of debris floating down to judge the magnitude of a potential flood. Animal behaviour can provide another warning sign.

KEY QUOTES

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies' secretary-general, Bekele Geleta, says in the report:

"Early action is an investment for the future and far more effective in the long run than responding to an emergency. But this seems to be a lesson that individuals, donors, countries and some of the 'humanitarian community' have yet to learn."

"There is still too much resistance to change - even though increasing evidence reveals that one U.S. dollar spent on prevention saves four dollars on emergency response."

"Why not set ourselves bold targets, such as allocating at least 20 percent of emergency resources for disaster risk reduction?"