375 mln people may face climate-related disasters annually by 2015

London, April 21 (ANI): UK-based charity Oxfam has suggested that the umber of people hit by climate-related disasters is expected to rise by about 50 percent, to reach 375 million a year by 2015.

According to a report by BBC News, the Oxfam study says that current humanitarian systems would be unable to cope with the natural disasters.

It warns that agencies are in danger of being overwhelmed by events such as flooding, storms and drought.

The group called for a radical shift so that humanitarian aid is sent impartially, instead of on the basis of political or other preferences.

Oxfam's Rob Bailey told the BBC that a big increase was needed in aid spending, but that the problem was not just about the amount of money.

"We need to see that money spent in better ways," he said. "At the moment, poor people in the developing world who are facing up to these disasters, they are almost facing a kind of lottery on a global scale," he added.

He said that in 2004, the equivalent of more than 1,200 dollars (823 pounds) was spent on each victim of the Asian tsunami, compared with just 23 dollars per person for the recent crisis in Chad.

"There's a huge mismatch in where the money goes," said Bailey.

Oxfam is also calling for a greater focus on helping countries and communities to prevent, and prepare for the suffering that climate change will cause. (ANI)