Among Top 10 Nations at Risk of Natural Disasters Is India

At maximum risk of being devastated by earthquakes, floods, storms and other natural hazards are Asian countries.

In an assessment of 197 countries, six Asian countries featured in the list of top 10 places in the world, which were most vulnerable to such catastrophes.

Climate Change Could Cause Sea To Inundate Mumbai And Karachi
Rising sea levels as a result of global warming threatens inundating 21 major cities, including Mumbai and Karachi, a new report by the WorldWatch institute has revealed.

The study was carried out by British risk consultancy 'Maplecroft'.

The list was headed by Bangladesh and the Philippines, which along with Burma are considered to be at "extreme" risk, the Herald Sun reported.

Only one other country, the Caribbean state of Dominican Republic, falls into this category, and was ranked third overall.

Six Towns in India Selected for Eco-City Project
Six Towns in the country namely Kottayam, Puri, Tirupati, Ujjain, Vrindavan and Thanjavour have been selected in the pilot phase of the Eco-City Programme.

Other countries, which appeared in the top 10 were, India, Vietnam, Honduras, Laos, Haiti and Nicaragua.

The "Nature Hazards Risk Atlas", which assesses the impact of natural disasters on a country relative to its economy, analyses it's preparedness to deal with such events and social ability to rebound.

India and Pakistan Jointly to Fight Against Polio, Avian Flu
India and Pakistan Tuesday enhanced their cooperation in the crucial area of healthcare and discussed steps needed to jointly fight polio and avian flu

If a country's infrastructure is weak and its governance is poor, the damages to the economy will be much greater.

The report observed the economic consequences of drought in India, which this year is likely to shave 0.5 percent off the country's gross domestic product (GDP).

India -Penny Wise and Pound Foolish on Health Matters
India will need to pull up its socks on health issues, lest it pay a huge price of being labeled- ‘The global leader of chronic diseases’.

The research's other benchmark is the 'absolute exposure' to natural hazards, meaning the total bill from a disaster.

By the "absolute" yardstick, the countries that face the biggest tabs when natural disasters occur are Japan, the United States, China, Taiwan and Mexico.

However, they have greater muscle and stronger institutional means to cope, and this mitigates the damage to their economy.

"As the global influence of emerging economies increases, the importance of their inherent natural hazard exposure will have wider and deeper global implications," Maplecroft analyst Helen Hodge said.

"The test for emerging and developing economies is to build a stronger capacity to meet the challenge of hazard-prone environments. Failure to do so will risk their ambitious economic growth when the inevitable natural hazards strike," she added.

Source-ANI