Jamaica Listed in Top 20 Riskiest Nations
Jamaica has been ranked as the riskiest country in the Caribbean and 20th globally in the latest iteration of the World Risk Report (2015).
The World Risk Report – created by the Institute for Environment and Human Security of the United Nations University answers four key questions:
How likely is an extreme natural event, and will it affect people?
How vulnerable are people to natural hazards?
To what extent can societies cope with acute disasters?
Is a society taking preventive measures to face natural hazards to be reckoned with in the future?
Surprisingly, Jamaica has been deemed as a more risky country than Haiti despite the fact that the neighbouring country suffered an extremely devastating earthquake just a few years ago that claimed as many as 316,000 lives and affected up to 3 million people.
Haiti is ranked just behind Jamaica at 21st. Most countries in the region fared considerably better in the ranking.
Guyana and the Dominican Republic are listed in the top 30 riskiest nations at 22nd and 25th respectively while Trinidad is ranked 62nd.
Barbados is listed among the safest countries in the world with a rank of 168.
Most developed countries unsurprisingly did quite well. The United States is ranked at 127, the United Kingdom is 133rd, and Singapore is 161st.
The industrialised nation – Japan is listed at 17 as a result of the nation’s extreme exposure to natural disasters.
The middle east oil rich nation of Qatar takes the top spot at the safest country. Why?
“With no reported disasters in EM-DAT, a database of more than 11,000 disasters since 1900, Qatar has the lowest disaster risk of any country, at only 0.08%. It enjoys this status mostly because of its location away from the disaster hotspots in Oceania, south-east Asia and Central America.”
Vanuatu is listed as the riskiest nation.
Download The Jamaican Blogs™ App for your Android device: HERE
Remember to share this article on Facebook and other Social Media Platforms. To submit your own articles or to advertise with us please send us an EMAIL at: [email protected]