Based on the world risk index, which takes into account not only the frequency of natural disasters in each country (known as exposure) but also how well equipped the country is to cope with and recover from the effects of a disaster, The Guardian reports Vanuatu is the riskiest country to live in, with natural disasters on average affecting more than a third of the population each year. If you want to be safe from natural disasters, move to Qatar (the lowest disaster risk country in the world)...
Source: The Guardian
More than one-third of Vanuatu’s population at risk every year
As a small Pacific island nation with a population of only 260,000 people, a disaster risk of 36.72% places almost 95,000 people at risk from natural disasters each year.
In 2015 Vanuatu was hit by an earthquake, volcanic eruption and Cyclone Pam in the space of a few weeks, but it’s not just the frequency of disasters that causes problems for the tiny nation. Unlike in larger countries such as the Philippines, a single storm can cause widespread destruction, including in the capital, Port Vila, meaning relief efforts have to be spread across the entire country. Cyclone Pam left 75,000 people in need of emergency shelter and destroyed 96% of food crops.
If you want to be safe from natural disasters, move to Qatar
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.
North America and Europe generally rank as significantly low on the list. The United States had a risk level of 3.87% while Canada had a level of 3.14%.
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Of course - these are just the 'natural' disasters... this does not account for the potential for policy-maker-created catastrophe.