Major natural disasters in January and February 2023

The Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS) has identified 22 major natural disasters worldwide for the first two months of 2023.

The most dramatic climatic events of the period include:

• the series of earthquakes in Turkey and Syria,
• the forest fires in Chile,
• the tropical cyclone "Freddy" in Madagascar and Mozambique,
• the floods in Brazil,
• Hurricane Gabriel in New Zealand,
• Cyclone Batsirai in Madagascar.

GDACS is a cooperation framework between the United Nations, the European Commission and disaster managers around the world. It aims to improve warning, information exchange and coordination in the event of sudden large-scale disasters.