| | Natural hazards (2003) | Natural hazards (2001) |
|
Albania |
destructive earthquakes; tsunamis occur along southwestern coast; floods; drought |
destructive earthquakes; tsunamis occur along southwestern coast; drought |
|
Algeria |
mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes; mudslides and floods in rainy season |
mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes; mud slides |
|
Andorra |
avalanches |
snowslides, avalanches |
|
Australia |
cyclones along the coast; severe droughts; forest fires |
cyclones along the coast; severe droughts |
|
Austria |
landslides; avalanches; earthquakes |
NA |
|
Azerbaijan |
droughts |
droughts; some lowland areas threatened by rising levels of the Caspian Sea |
|
Bahamas, The |
hurricanes and other tropical storms cause extensive flood and wind damage |
hurricanes and other tropical storms that cause extensive flood and wind damage |
|
Belize |
frequent, devastating hurricanes (June to November) and coastal flooding (especially in south) |
frequent, devastating hurricanes (September to December) and coastal flooding (especially in south) |
|
Benin |
hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March |
hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north in winter |
|
Bhutan |
violent storms from the Himalayas are the source of the country's name which translates as Land of the Thunder Dragon; frequent landslides during the rainy season |
violent storms coming down from the Himalayas are the source of the country's name which translates as Land of the Thunder Dragon; frequent landslides during the rainy season |
|
Brunei |
typhoons, earthquakes, and severe flooding are rare |
typhoons, earthquakes, and severe flooding are very rare |
|
Cameroon |
volcanic activity with periodic releases of poisonous gases from Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun volcanoes |
recent volcanic activity with release of poisonous gases |
|
Canada |
continuous permafrost in north is a serious obstacle to development; cyclonic storms form east of the Rocky Mountains, a result of the mixing of air masses from the Arctic, Pacific, and North American interior, and produce most of the country's rain and snow east of the mountains |
continuous permafrost in north is a serious obstacle to development; cyclonic storms form east of the Rocky Mountains, a result of the mixing of air masses from the Arctic, Pacific, and North American interior, and produce most of the country's rain and snow |
|
Cape Verde |
prolonged droughts; seasonal harmattan wind produces obscuring dust; volcanically and seismically active |
prolonged droughts; harmattan wind can obscure visibility; volcanically and seismically active |
|
China |
frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts; land subsidence |
frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts |
|
Cocos (Keeling) Islands |
cyclone season is October to April |
cyclones may occur in the early months of the year |
|
Congo, Democratic Republic of the |
periodic droughts in south; Congo River floods (seasonal); in the east, in the Great Rift Valley, there are active volcanoes |
periodic droughts in south; volcanic activity |
|
East Timor |
floods and landslides are common; earthquakes, tsunamis, tropical cyclones |
- |
|
Ecuador |
frequent earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity; floods; periodic droughts |
frequent earthquakes, landslides, volcanic activity; periodic droughts |
|
Egypt |
periodic droughts; frequent earthquakes, flash floods, landslides; hot, driving windstorm called khamsin occurs in spring; dust storms, sandstorms |
periodic droughts; frequent earthquakes, flash floods, landslides, volcanic activity; hot, driving windstorm called khamsin occurs in spring; dust storms, sandstorms |
|
El Salvador |
known as the Land of Volcanoes; frequent and sometimes very destructive earthquakes and volcanic activity; extremely susceptible to hurricanes |
known as the Land of Volcanoes; frequent and sometimes very destructive earthquakes and volcanic activity |
|
Estonia |
sometimes flooding occurs in the spring |
flooding occurs frequently in the spring |
|
France |
flooding; avalanches; midwinter windstorms; drought; forest fires in south near the Mediterranean |
flooding; avalanches |
|
Ghana |
dry, dusty, northeastern harmattan winds occur from January to March; droughts |
dry, dusty, harmattan winds occur from January to March; droughts |
|
Guadeloupe |
hurricanes (June to October); Soufriere de Guadeloupe is an active volcano |
hurricanes (June to October); Soufriere is an active volcano |
|
Guam |
frequent squalls during rainy season; relatively rare, but potentially very destructive typhoons (June - December) |
frequent squalls during rainy season; relatively rare, but potentially very destructive typhoons (especially in August) |
|
Guatemala |
numerous volcanoes in mountains, with occasional violent earthquakes; Caribbean coast extremely susceptible to hurricanes and other tropical storms |
numerous volcanoes in mountains, with occasional violent earthquakes; Caribbean coast subject to hurricanes and other tropical storms |
|
Heard Island and McDonald Islands |
Mawson Peak, an active volcano, is on Heard Island |
Heard Island is dominated by a dormant volcano called Big Ben |
|
Honduras |
frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast |
frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; damaging hurricanes and floods along Caribbean coast |
|
India |
droughts; flash floods, as well as widespread and destructive flooding from monsoonal rains; severe thunderstorms; earthquakes |
droughts, flash floods, severe thunderstorms common; earthquakes |
|
Indonesia |
occasional floods, severe droughts, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes, forest fires |
occasional floods, severe droughts, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes |
|
Israel |
sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; droughts; periodic earthquakes |
sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; droughts |
|
Jarvis Island |
the narrow fringing reef surrounding the island poses a maritime hazard |
the narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can be a maritime hazard |
|
Jordan |
droughts; periodic earthquakes |
droughts |
|
Kenya |
recurring drought; flooding during rainy seasons |
recurring drought in northern and eastern regions; flooding during rainy seasons |
|
Kuwait |
sudden cloudbursts are common from October to April and bring heavy rain, which can damage roads and houses; sandstorms and dust storms occur throughout the year, but are most common between March and August |
sudden cloudbursts are common from October to April; they bring inordinate amounts of rain which can damage roads and houses; sandstorms and dust storms occur throughout the year, but are most common between March and August |
|
Laos |
floods, droughts |
floods, droughts, and blight |
|
Malaysia |
flooding, landslides, forest fires |
flooding, landslides |
|
Mali |
hot, dust-laden harmattan haze common during dry seasons; recurring droughts; occasional Niger River flooding |
hot, dust-laden harmattan haze common during dry seasons; recurring droughts |
|
Marshall Islands |
infrequent typhoons |
occasional typhoons |
|
Mexico |
tsunamis along the Pacific coast, volcanoes and destructive earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the Pacific, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean coasts |
tsunamis along the Pacific coast, volcanoes and destructive earthquakes in the center and south, and hurricanes on the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean coasts |
|
Mongolia |
dust storms, grassland and forest fires, drought, and "zud", which is harsh winter conditions |
dust and snow storms, grassland and forest fires, drought and "zud", which is a combination of drought followed by harsh winter conditions |
|
Montserrat |
severe hurricanes (June to November); volcanic eruptions (Soufriere Hills volcano has erupted continuously since 1996) |
severe hurricanes (June to November); volcanic eruptions (full-scale eruptions of the Soufriere Hills volcano occurred during 1996-97) |
|
Mozambique |
severe droughts; devastating cyclones and floods occur in central and southern provinces |
severe droughts and floods occur in central and southern provinces; devastating cyclones |
|
Nicaragua |
destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes |
destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, and occasionally severe hurricanes |
|
Nigeria |
periodic droughts; flooding |
periodic droughts |
|
Panama |
occasional severe storms and forest fires in the Darien area |
NA |
|
Papua New Guinea |
active volcanism; situated along the Pacific "Ring of Fire"; the country is subject to frequent and sometimes severe earthquakes; mud slides; tsunamis |
active volcanism; situated along the Pacific "Rim of Fire"; the country is subject to frequent and sometimes severe earthquakes; mud slides; tsunamis |
|
Poland |
flooding |
NA |
|
Romania |
earthquakes, most severe in south and southwest; geologic structure and climate promote landslides |
earthquakes most severe in south and southwest; geologic structure and climate promote landslides |
|
Russia |
permafrost over much of Siberia is a major impediment to development; volcanic activity in the Kuril Islands; volcanoes and earthquakes on the Kamchatka Peninsula; spring floods and summer/autumn forest fires throughout Siberia and parts of European Russia |
permafrost over much of Siberia is a major impediment to development; volcanic activity in the Kuril Islands; volcanoes and earthquakes on the Kamchatka Peninsula |
|
Serbia and Montenegro |
destructive earthquakes |
- |
|
Solomon Islands |
typhoons, but rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earth tremors; volcanic activity |
typhoons, but they are rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earth tremors; volcanic activity |
|
Sudan |
dust storms and periodic persistent droughts |
dust storms |
|
Svalbard |
ice floes often block the entrance to Bellsund (a transit point for coal export) on the west coast and occasionally make parts of the northeastern coast inaccessible to maritime traffic |
ice floes often block up the entrance to Bellsund (a transit point for coal export) on the west coast and occasionally make parts of the northeastern coast inaccessible to maritime traffic |
|
Swaziland |
drought |
NA |
|
Tajikistan |
earthquakes and floods |
NA |
|
United Kingdom |
winter windstorms; floods |
NA |
|
Uruguay |
seasonally high winds (the pampero is a chilly and occasional violent wind which blows north from the Argentine pampas), droughts, floods; because of the absence of mountains, which act as weather barriers, all locations are particularly vulnerable to rapid changes from weather fronts |
seasonally high winds (the pampero is a chilly and occasional violent wind which blows north from the Argentine pampas), droughts, floods; because of the absence of mountains, which act as weather barriers, all locations are particularly vulnerable to rapid changes in weather fronts |
|
Vanuatu |
tropical cyclones or typhoons (January to April); volcanism causes minor earthquakes; tsunamis |
tropical cyclones or typhoons (January to April); volcanism causes minor earthquakes |
|
Vietnam |
occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding, especially in the Mekong River delta |
occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding |
|
Yugoslavia |
- |
destructive earthquakes |
|
Zambia |
periodic drought, tropical storms (November to April) |
tropical storms (November to April) |