Noticed a bit of extreme weather in Hong Kong recently? Hardly surprising when you consider that our city has the highest risk of natural disasters in Asia. #HolyCrap!
According to the inaugural Sustainable Cities Index from ARCADIS – which is apparently “the leading global natural and built asset design and consultancy firm” (whatever the hell that is) – Hong Kong is the city most at risk of Mother Nature’s wrath in Asia, and third in the world.
Ahead of us on a global scale are only the US cities of Los Angeles and San Fran.
The rankings were devised by measuring the volume of natural disasters in 50 leading global cities since 1900, with events that matched at least one of the following conditions included:
– 10 or more people reported killed
– 100 or more people reportedly affected
– A declaration of a state of emergency
– A call for international assistance
Hong Kong’s natural disasters have largely been wildfires, floods and storms, with the city being vulnerable to heavy rain, tropical cyclones and intense heat.
However, the impact of such occurrences has been minimised in recent years thanks to protection plans and thorough weather warnings.
Ah, NOW we know why the Hong Kong Observatory app is so annoying.
FYI, Asian cities make up almost half of the global top 10 ranked as having the highest natural disasters risk, while Singapore is the only Asian city in the top 10 with a low natural disasters risk.
