Bangladesh, Indonesia top SC risk study

RISK              SUPPLY CHAIN

Asia - Bangladesh and Indonesia have been ranked as the nations most at risk from extreme weather and geophysical events, with China and India not far behind.

The Natural Disasters Risk Index (NDRI) is released by global risks advisory firm Maplecroft and measures the human impact of natural disasters. The study aims to enable businesses and insurance companies to identify risks to international assets.

The methodology looks at the likelihood of an event occurring and covers disasters including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, storms, flooding, drought, landslides, extreme temperatures and epidemics.

There are 15 countries in the "extreme risk" category of the study, including Bangladesh (first place), Indonesia (2) and Iran (3), with Asian heavyweights India (11) and China (12) also in the highest risk category.

These are the same countries that are projected to set leading growth trends amongst emerging economies, and which feature in the supply chains of many multinational companies.

"Poverty is an important factor in countries where both the frequency and impacts of natural disasters are severe," said Maplecroft Environmental Analyst Dr Anna Moss. "Poor infrastructure, plus dense overcrowding in high risk areas like flood plains, river banks, steep slopes and reclaimed land continually result in high casualty figures.

"Due to climate change, extreme hydro-meterological events are expected to increase," she added. "Business risks include damage to assets; interruptions to operations from the breakdown of infrastructure like transport and power networks; plus there can be devastating impacts on local workforces. This makes it essential that businesses plan for the possibility of a disruptive natural disaster."

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