Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Iran are ranked as the most vulnerable nations to extreme weather and geological events, according to the Natural Disasters Risk Index (NDRI) by Maplecroft, which assesses 229 countries. The index measures the human impact of disasters over the past 30 years, considering deaths and the frequency of events. Fifteen countries are classified as “extreme risk,” including India and China, highlighting a correlation with poverty and inadequate infrastructure in high-risk areas. Bangladesh has seen over 191,000 deaths from disasters, primarily storms; Indonesia, 191,000, mainly from the 2004 tsunami; and Iran, around 74,000 from earthquakes.
Dr. Anna Moss from Maplecroft notes that climate change is expected to exacerbate these risks, emphasizing the need for businesses to plan for potential disruptions. Interestingly, not only developing countries face risks; even G8 nations like France and Italy are considered “high risk” due to extreme heat events. In contrast, the UK is rated as “low risk.”
The NDRI is part of a broader Natural Disasters series by Maplecroft, which also includes various indexes on economic losses and specific disaster types, drawing on multiple data sources.
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