2016•08•25     Barcelona     Thomson Reuters

Pacific islands, Southeast Asian nations and Central American states dominate the countries at highest risk of being hit by a disaster, researchers said on Thursday.

The World Risk Index 2016 ranks 171 countries according to how exposed and vulnerable they are to natural hazards, including earthquakes, floods and storms.

A disaster occurs when an extreme natural event overwhelms people’s ability to protect themselves, the researchers said in a report.

Poor economic and social factors leave countries less able to keep their populations safe, they said, citing the Solomon Islands (ranked 6), Papua New Guinea (ranked 10) and Guinea-Bissau (ranked 15) which are also strongly exposed to hazards.

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