The Red Cross is calling for a change in the approach to natural disasters such as the recent storms across Australia and Hurricane Matthew hitting the Americas.
Releasing its World Disasters Report, the charity says the focus needs to be on prevention and resilience, rather than clean up and recovery.
The report says disasters killed more than 32-thousand people across the world last year, including 16 Australians, and affected 108 million people worldwide.
The Red Cross says natural disasters are becoming bigger and more frequent, partly as a result of climate change and more people living in dangerous places.
It's urging governments, businesses, local communities and humanitarian groups to work together on disaster resilience so people can bounce back faster from devastating events.
