There is some suggestion that the number of disasters may be increasing. However, remember that disasters are rare events. Thankfully! There is a large degree of variability in the occurrence of disasters. Some events (hurricanes, flooding) occur regularly. Other events (major earthquakes, volcanic eruptions) occur less frequently. The increase noted in disasters between 1980 and 1987 may be real or may reflect the cyclical nature in which disasters occur. The increase could also be due to better reporting of disaster events, or the classification of new categories of disasters. It is not clear which answer is true.