56% of 100 cities most exposed to natural hazards found in Philippines, Japan, China and Bangladesh: report

The strategic markets of Philippines, China, Japan and Bangladesh are home to over half of the 100 cities most exposed to natural hazards, highlighting the potential risks to foreign business, supply chains and economic output in Asia from extreme weather events and seismic disasters, according to new research from global risk analytics company, Verisk Maplecroft.

Released on March 4, the 5th annual Natural Hazards Risk Atlas 2015 (NHRA) assesses the natural hazard exposure of over 1,300 cities, selected for their importance as significant economic and population centres in the coming decade, Verisk Maplecroft says in a press release. Of the 100 cities with the greatest exposure to natural hazards, 21 are located in the Philippines, 16 in China, 11 in Japan and eight in Bangladesh. The analysis considers the combined risk posed by tropical storms and cyclones, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, severe storms, extra-tropical cyclones, wildfires, storm surges, volcanoes and landslides.

Verisk Maplecroft notes that the Philippines’ extreme exposure to a myriad of natural hazards is reflected by the inclusion of eight of the country’s cities among the ten most at risk globally, including Tuguegarao (2nd), Lucena (3rd), Manila (4th), San Fernando (5th) and Cabantuan (6th). Port Vila, Vanuatu (1st) and Taipei City, Taiwan (8th) are the only cities not located in the Philippines to feature in the top 10.

According to Verisk Maplecroft, natural hazards constitute one of the most severe disrupters of business and supply chain continuity, and also threaten economic output and growth in some of the world’s key cities, especially for those located in the emerging markets.

“As typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines and the tsunami in Japan showed us, natural hazard events can have far-reaching and long-lasting impacts on supply chains, business and economies,” said Dr. Richard Hewston, principal environmental analyst at Verisk Maplecroft, in the release. “Understanding how, where and why those risks manifest is an imperative in managing potential shocks.”

According to the NHRA, several key manufacturing and logistics hubs are highly exposed to natural hazards. One of the world’s busiest ports Tokyo is ranked 22nd, while the commercial centres of Manila (4th), Taipei City (8th) and Dhaka (35th) and the important Chinese manufacturing locations of Wenzhou (49th), Foshan (63rd) and Dongguan (80th) all feature among the 100 most exposed cities.

The highest risk cities in Japan and the Philippines are highly exposed to a variety of hazards, including earthquakes, typhoons, severe storms and landslides. Tuguegarao (2nd), Lucena (3rd) and Manila (4th) in the Philippines, along with Kawasaki (15th), Osaka (16th) and Nara (17th) in Japan are highly prone to earthquakes and typhoons – two of the deadliest and costliest hazard types.