The natural disasters they are, unfortunately, more and more frequent in our time. Many of the cities most at risk are in coastal areas, making them more vulnerable to floods, tsunamis and earthquakes. These types of catastrophes are devastating both for human life and for the development of infrastructures and the economy.
The Swiss insurance company Swiss Re has compiled a list of the ten cities in the world most seriously threatened by different natural disasters. It has also analyzed the possible impact that these can have on the residents of the area and the economy in general. The list of these places is as follows:
1.- Tokyo - Yokohama
More than 37 million people live in the urban area of Tokyo and Yokohama. Every year they are under threat from tsunamis, earthquakes and floods. Both cities are located along the Ring of Fire, the most active fault in the western Pacific. Being the center of the Japanese economy, any major natural disaster would have, among other things, serious economic repercussions. In 1923 the great Kanto earthquake killed 142.000 people in the capital.
2.- Manila
Last year Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines too hard. The devastation it caused caused the entire country to be declared one of the places most prone to natural disasters. The capital Manila is facing earthquakes, floods and typhoons. The economic damage that this city continually suffers is tremendous, especially if we take into account the already fragile economy of the Philippine archipelago.
3.- Pearl River Delta
Its urban area, which includes Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Macao and Guangzhou, about 43 million people, is one of the largest economic centers in China. This entire area is under constant threat from storms, cyclones, earthquakes, typhoons and floods. In September 2013 more than three million people were affected by Typhoon Usagi.
4.- Osaka - Kobe
Storms, floods and, above all, earthquakes are the main natural disasters that can affect this area of Japan. Precisely in 1995 a terrible earthquake killed more than six thousand people. Likewise, the high winds and typhoons that hit this part of the country can produce giant waves. The metropolitan area is built on a coastal plain, which only increases the risks.
5.- Jakarta
40% of the city of Jakarta is located below sea level, so floods are a clear risk for the area. The fact that it is also close to a fault and in a flat basin of soft earth makes it prone to earthquakes. In 2004, an earthquake and tsunami in nearby Aceh caused more than 170.000 injuries in the Indonesian capital. Experts have already predicted that Jakarta will suffer a strong earthquake in the future.
6.- Nagoya
This Japanese city is in the main tsunami risk zone in the Pacific. It affects two and a half million people and both storms and heavy rains are not lacking every year. In 2000 more than 45.000 people had to be evacuated when Nagoya suffered one of the most severe floods in decades. In addition, as in most of Japan, the risk of earthquakes is very high.
7.- Calcutta
A city in eastern India, the possible overflows of the Hugli River could endanger more than ten million people. On the other hand, there is also the risk of severe storms and tsunamis hitting the northwest coast of India, which could affect some 600.000 people. The precarious homes in which a large part of its population live would be completely swept away with the arrival of one of these natural disasters.
8.- Shanghai
In this Chinese city the main risks have to do with floods (like other parts of the country). Shanghai is a very low-lying city. More than eleven million of their homes would be affected if the Yangtze River were to overflow. But it is also vulnerable to tropical cyclones that arrive from the East China Sea and cause massive storms. With such a large population, the economic consequences of a natural disaster here would be devastating.
9.- Los Angeles
This is the only city in the United States to be found on this list. Located on the San Andrés fault, it is very exposed especially to earthquakes. It has already suffered several of them, especially one of magnitude 6,7 on the Richter scale that took place in 1994 and caused the death of 60 people. In recent years it has also had to withstand a good number of floods.
10.- Tehran
The Iranian capital has always been exposed to the designs of nature, especially earthquakes, as it is located on the North Anatolian fault. It is estimated that more than a million people could perish if a seismic movement of great intensity affected this city. The last major earthquake to hit here was in 1830, but since then its building laws have not entirely addressed the problem.