UNITED NATIONS-More than 31 million people were displaced in their own countries last year-over 75 percent as a result of natural disasters and weather-related events, and the rest from violence and conflicts with Congo and Syria topping the list, according to a new report released Monday.
East Asia and the Pacific accounted for two-thirds of the displacements related to extreme weather events including storms, floods, wildfires and severe winter conditions in 2016-almost double the number for 2015.
The center, which is part of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said that in recent years there have been roughly twice as many internally displaced people as refugees who flee to another country, and the gap between the numbers has been growing since 1997.
Yet, the report said, "2016 was a year of stark contrast between the attention given to refugees and migrants and the lack of political concern for the millions of people displaced inside their country by conflict, violence and disasters."
The center warned that displacement will continue to have a major impact unless its main causes-poverty, environmental change and state fragility-are addressed. It urged new financial and political investments to tackle the causes of the "displacement crises."
"In 2016, one person every second was forced to flee their home inside their own country," said Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council. "It is urgent to put internal displacement back on the global agenda."
According to the center, 31.1 million new cases of internal displacement by conflict, violence and disasters were recorded in 2016, an increase of 3.3 million from 2015. The latest figures on the U.N. refugee agency's website showed 14.4 million new refugees in 2014.
A majority of the 24.2 million displacements caused by disasters in 2016 occurred in low- and lower middle-income countries as a result of weather-related events including several severe typhoons and hurricanes, the center said.
The countries with the worst displacement were China with 7.4 million people forced to flee their homes and the Philippines with 5.9 million, India with 2.4 million, Indonesia with 1.2 million and the United States with 1.1 million, the center said.