The annual number of natural disasters in Southeast Asia increased from 13 in 1970 to 41 in 2014, resulting in a surge of both economic damages and the number of persons affected. Floods, typhoons, hurricanes and earthquakes are the most frequent types of disasters occurring in the region, sometimes bearing severe human and economic losses. The frequency and impacts of such disasters are expected to increase in the future, as a result of a combination of climate change impacts (such as sea-level rise), uibanisation and socio-economic changes.