Disasters

What countries face high risk of disasters?



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Natural disasters can have a devastating impact on nations in terms of both economic damages as well as loss of human life. Further, weak logistic chains and lack of critical infrastructure result in natural events becoming a disaster. In case of a disaster, it is imperative that humanitarian aid from within the nation and overseas reaches the affected people to lessen the loss of human lives.

Aid may be hindered due to unreliable electricity grids, crumbling transport routes and damaged buildings. As such it is imperative that, the governments invest in the establishment of critical infrastructure.

A well-maintained and high-quality infrastructure can prevent or lessen the disastrous consequences of storms or floods, and ensure a smooth flow of aid. Some nations have strengthened their infrastructure while others have not been able to do so and thus, they feature high on the World Risk Index of 2017. The 171 countries in the report are ranked according to their risk of becoming a victim due to natural hazards such as earthquakes, floods, cyclones, etc.

According to the 2017 World Risk Index, Vanuatu was the riskiest place to live. It had a world risk index score of 36.45 percent. Tonga was at the second spot, with a score of 28.57 percent, and the Philippines at the third place, with a risk index of 27.69 percent.


Nations such as Guatemala, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Cambodia, and a few others were also prone to risk with risk factors ranging between 16-to-20 percent. Countries such as Pakistan, India, Peru, China, Malaysia, Thailand, eSwatini, Sri Lanka, Greece and many others had a risk index between 4-to-8 percent.

Croatia, Libya, the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, Slovenia and several other countries had an index score of under 4 percent.

Meanwhile, according to the 2017 report, Qatar was the safest country in terms of natural disasters. Qatar occupied the safest tag and was placed at the 171 rank, with an index percentage of 0.09, because of its strategic location as well as high level of development. Malta was slightly behind Qatar with a rank of 170 and an index score of 0.61 percent.

Rank Country World Risk Index
1 Vanuatu 36.45
2 Tonga 28.57
3 Philippines 27.69
4 Guatemala 20.46
5 Bangladesh 19.57
6 Solomon Islands 18.77
7 Costa Rica 17.16
8 Cambodia 16.92
9 El Salvador 16.74
10 Timor-Leste 16.37
11 Papua New Guinea 16.34
12 Brunei Darussalam 16.22
13 Mauritius 15.11
14 Nicaragua 14.88
15 Fiji 13.5
16 Guinea-Bissau 13.5
17 Japan 13.47
18 Viet Nam 12.84
19 Jamaica 12.08
20 Gambia 11.99
21 Haiti 11.89
22 Chile 11.74
23 Guyana 11.65
24 Niger 11.53
25 Benin 11.39
26 Dominican Republic 11.34
27 Cameroon 11.19
28 Madagascar 11.11
29 Chad 11.07
30 Senegal 10.86
31 Honduras 10.82
32 Cape Verde 10.51
33 Indonesia 10.49
34 Togo 10.48
35 Burundi 10.48
36 Sierra Leone 10.45
37 Djibouti 9.99
38 Zimbabwe 9.96
39 Albania 9.93
40 Afghanistan 9.69
41 Burkina Faso 9.62
42 Myanmar 9.06
43 Cote d’Ivoire 9.04
44 Mozambique 8.93
45 Ghana 8.69
46 Mali 8.68
47 Uzbekistan 8.64
48 Suriname 8.48
49 Guinea 8.42
50 Netherlands 8.41
51 Kyrgyzstan 8.27
52 Mauritania 8.19
53 Nigeria 8.19
54 Malawi 8.13
55 Sudan 7.97
56 United Republic of Tanzania 7.96
57 Bhutan 7.84
58 Liberia 7.84
59 Algeria 7.76
60 Ecuador 7.66
61 eSwatini 7.64
62 Trinidad and Tobago 7.56
63 Sri Lanka 7.52
64 Zambia 7.46
65 Ethiopia 7.45
66 Comoros 7.44
67 Panama 7.43
68 Congo 7.4
69 Rwanda 7.35
70 Serbia 7.23
71 Tajikistan 7.16
72 Greece 7.11
73 Pakistan 7.11
74 Lesotho 7.03
75 India 7
76 Kenya 6.94
77 Peru 6.91
78 Morocco 6.87
79 Central African Republic 6.81
80 China 6.81
81 Colombia 6.76
82 Uganda 6.66
83 Turkmenistan 6.65
84 Georgia 6.64
85 Belize 6.6
86 Angola 6.57
87 Armenia 6.49
88 Romania 6.47
89 Malaysia 6.47
90 Cuba 6.35
91 Thailand 6.35
92 Eritrea 6.32
93 Bosnia and Herzegovina 6.31
94 Mexico 6.25
95 Gabon 6.14
96 Republic of Macedonia 6.12
97 Yemen 6.01
98 Venezuela 5.99
99 Azerbaijan 5.99
100 Lao People’s Democ. Rep. 5.69
101 Syrian Arab Republic 5.64
102 Tunisia 5.62
103 South Africa 5.62
104 Namibia 5.59
105 Hungary 5.55
106 Turkey 5.42
107 Nepal 5.37
108 Botswana 5.32
109 Lebanon 5.02
110 Republic of Moldova 4.98
111 Bolivia 4.93
112 Iran (Islamic Republic of) 4.87
113 Korea, Republic of 4.8
114 Iraq 4.77
115 Jordan 4.76
116 Italy 4.63
117 Equatorial Guinea 4.56
118 Ireland 4.56
119 New Zealand 4.42
120 Bulgaria 4.34
121 Australia 4.24
122 Brazil 4.23
123 Croatia 4.21
124 Bahamas 4.14
125 Uruguay 4.03
126 United States 3.9
127 Libyan Arab Jamahiriya 3.89
128 Russia 3.78
129 Kazakhstan 3.74
130 Paraguay 3.71
131 Argentina 3.69
132 Portugal 3.65
133 Austria 3.63
134 Slovenia 3.62
135 United Kingdom 3.6
136 Slovakia 3.56
137 Czech Republic 3.52
138 Kuwait 3.46
139 Latvia 3.43
140 Poland 3.35
141 Belgium 3.33
142 Spain 3.23
143 Belarus 3.19
144 Canada 3.13
145 Ukraine 3.1
146 Germany 3.09
147 Mongolia 3.08
148 Lithuania 3.06
149 Denmark 2.99
150 Cyprus 2.76
151 France 2.73
152 Oman 2.72
153 Seychelles 2.56
154 Luxembourg 2.55
155 Switzerland 2.5
156 Estonia 2.45
157 Israel 2.4
158 Singapore 2.36
159 Egypt 2.3
160 Norway 2.29
161 Finland 2.25
162 Sweden 2.19
163 United Arab Emirates 1.98
164 Bahrain 1.77
165 Kiribati 1.76
166 Iceland 1.54
167 Grenada 1.44
168 Barbados 1.21
169 Saudi Arabia 1.21
170 Malta 0.61
171 Qatar 0.09

Source: World Risk Report, Analysis and prospects 2017

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