The World Bank has identified the regions of the planet most at risk

The World Bank, a member of the Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction (GADR), has published a report in the United States which offers, for the first time, an overview, country by country, of the threat of six types of natural disasters (earthquakes, floods, drought, landslides, cyclones and volcanoes). Produced by researchers from the international organization, the University of Columbia and other institutions, it shows that 3.4 billion people - over half the world's population - are living in areas threatened by one of these hazards! Establishing a global prevention policy to mitigate the destruction involves identifying areas at risk and better evaluating the risks the inhabitants are facing.

According to the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED), Brussels, more than 600 disasters cause human and material damage throughout the world every year. The report's authors, using this data bank and taking into account meteorological, geological, geographical and economic data, have calculated the probability of particular disasters occurring.

This enormous statistical work reveals that 20% of the Earth's surface is exposed to at least one natural hazard. Within this proportion, 160 countries have one quarter of their population exposed to high mortality risk, and 90 of them have more than 10% of their citizens living in areas at risk from two hazards.

In the category of the States most at risk, the top spot goes to Taiwan, with 73% of its inhabitants and territory exposed to three categories of hazard. The Asian island is closely followed by a group of countries including Bangladesh, the Dominican Republic, Nepal, Haiti, Burundi, El Salvador and Honduras, where more than 90% of the population is vulnerable to a double high mortality risk.

©The Center for Hazards and Risk Research
Five of eighteen disaster hotspots maps for Bangladesh.
More maps at The Center for Hazards and Risk Research