Developing countries at highest risk from natural disasters

A new report warns that China and India are at high risk from natural disasters as their economies are less resilient in dealing with the massive costs of reconstruction.

The report, titled The Natural Hazard Risk Atlas 2011 and published by Maplecroft, found that while the United States and Japan face the most economic costs as a result of natural disasters, developing countries lack the economic robustness and infrastructure to quickly recover.

“The emerging economies, although buoyant with growth, lack the socio-economic resilience to limit their disaster risk,” said Alyson Warhurst, the CEO of Maplecroft. “This could threaten their economic growth and the extent to which businesses with operations there hope to flourish. As the purchasing power [of these nations] grows, so too will the absolute economic value exposed to natural hazards.”

The study ranked 196 countries based on their economic exposure to earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, and other natural disasters. The report factored in economic robustness, strength of governance, infrastructure, disaster preparedness and building regulations and found that China, India, the Phillipines, and Indonesia were in the “high risk” category, while the United States and Japan were “low risks.”

In addition, seventeen countries, mostly in Africa, were considered at “extreme risk.”

The report used eleven indicators derived from data compiled from 2005 to 2010 by the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the CIA.