China, India face extreme risk from disasters: UN

GENEVA: People in China and India are among those with an "extreme" risk of dying in a natural disaster, the United Nations said in a report today.

The global body also cited Bangladesh, Colombia, Indonesia and Myanmar as the countries facing the greatest threat of massive deaths from disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and landslides.

"Natural disasters are there and we cannot stop them," said Senator Loren Lagarda of the Philippines, who was among those presenting the UN's "Mortality Risk Index" in Geneva.

However, she said developing countries around the world need to improve their disaster planning to better prepare for disasters. Rich countries should help, as their industrialisation has led to climate change that is exacerbating the effects of storms and other weather events, Lagarda said.



The index tables the world's countries according to a set of factors that include the prevalence of natural disasters, infrastructure for dealing with them and their level of preparedness. Two scales are used: one that places countries according to the absolute number of deaths likely to occur from disasters, and another based on the relative death rate.

Bangladeshis were seen as most threatened by cyclones. People in China, Colombia, India, Indonesia and Myanmar were at the highest risk of dying from earthquakes. Indians were most in danger from floods.