More than 19.3 million people were displaced by disasters in 100 countries in 2014. Since 2008, an average of 26.4 million people have been displaced from their homes each year by disasters brought on by natural hazards – equivalent to one person displaced every second. The report presenting evidence on the scale, patterns and trends of displacement as a result of natural hazards, as well as geographical distribution and protracted displacement. The report notes that Asia accounted for 87 per cent of the people displaced by disasters worldwide in 2014, with 16.7 million people forced to flee their homes in the region. Europe experienced double its average level of displacement for the past seven years in 2014, with 190,000 people displaced, most of them by flooding in the Balkans. Displacement in Africa was three times lower than average in 2014 in absolute terms, but many African countries experienced high levels relative to their population size. In Chile, one of the largest displacements of the year highlighted the benefit of investment in disaster prevention and preparedness. Around 970,000 people fled low-lying coastal areas in response to an 8.2 magnitude offshore earthquake and tsunami warning in April. Most people were able to return home the following day. Developing countries are consistently the worst affected, with almost 175 million people displaced since 2008, accounting for 95 per cent of the global total. The figure for 2014 was 17.4 million, or 91 per cent of the global total.