Natural disasters cause significant environmental change and societal costs while devastating the lives of its victims. The number and power of extreme weather events are forecasted to increase with the advent of climate change. The average yearly death count caused by natural disasters between 2002—2011 was 107,000 and those affected was 268 million (CRED 2013). Natural disasters also have implications concerning the protection of human rights. The sovereign state has the obligation to ensure its citizens protection, but when the sovereign is unable or unwilling to ensure this protection, what then? The increasing calls for international intervention in circumstances such as this implies that human rights protection is an international obligation. Read the rest here.