Bangladesh is the sixth among countries that are most vulnerable to
natural disasters including typhoons, earthquake and tsunamis, a new
report says.
Among the Asian countries, Bangladesh
ranked second, after the Philippines in the World Risk Index 2011,
jointly conducted by United Nations University (UNU), Germany and the
Institute of Environment and Human Security.
In the
recently published 2011 Global Assessment Report by the UNDP, Bangladesh
was found to be one of the most vulnerable countries to disasters.
The report assessed 173 countries based on their
exposure, susceptibility, coping capacities and adaptive capacities to
disasters.
Based on appropriate indicators in the
components, Bangladesh gained 27.52 percent, 44.96 percent, 86.49
percent and 58.77 percent respectively, the UNU website says.
Relating to the risk index, Bangladesh's overall points were 17.45.
Qatar
has been ranked the least vulnerable country with only 0.02 point in
the index while Vanuatu, an archipelago state in the South Pacific
Ocean, has been ranked number one in the report with 32 points.
The Philippines has been ranked first in Asia while third in the world disaster-affected countries, the report adds.
The other countries that placed higher on the index are from Asia and Latin America.
It
notes that state failure is a major risk factor. "Whether natural
events turn into disasters depends critically on the coping and adaptive
capacity of governments," the report says.
"States
with strong institutions have fewer deaths after extreme natural events
than those with weak or inexistent institutions," it says.
The index has been drawn up considering the following issues:
- How likely is an extreme natural event and will it affect people?
- How vulnerable are people to natural hazards?
- To what extent are societies able to cope with severe and immediate disasters?
- Does society take precautionary measures against anticipated future natural hazards?
