|
| Field Listing :: Natural hazards |
| This entry lists potential natural disasters. | |
Country |
Natural hazards |
|---|
| Afghanistan | damaging earthquakes occur in Hindu Kush mountains; flooding; droughts |
| Albania | destructive earthquakes; tsunamis occur along southwestern coast; floods; drought |
| Algeria | mountainous areas subject to severe earthquakes; mudslides and floods in rainy season |
| American Samoa | typhoons common from December to March |
| Andorra | avalanches |
| Angola | locally heavy rainfall causes periodic flooding on the plateau |
| Anguilla | frequent hurricanes and other tropical storms (July to October) |
| Antarctica | katabatic (gravity-driven) winds blow coastward from the high interior; frequent blizzards form near the foot of the plateau; cyclonic storms form over the ocean and move clockwise along the coast; volcanism on Deception Island and isolated areas of West Antarctica; other seismic activity rare and weak; large icebergs may calve from ice shelf |
| Antigua and Barbuda | hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October); periodic droughts |
| Arctic Ocean | ice islands occasionally break away from northern Ellesmere Island; icebergs calved from glaciers in western Greenland and extreme northeastern Canada; permafrost in islands; virtually ice locked from October to June; ships subject to superstructure icing from October to May |
| Argentina | San Miguel de Tucuman and Mendoza areas in the Andes subject to earthquakes; pamperos are violent windstorms that can strike the pampas and northeast; heavy flooding in some areas |
| Armenia | occasionally severe earthquakes; droughts |
| Aruba | hurricanes; lies outside the Caribbean hurricane belt and is rarely threatened |
| Ashmore and Cartier Islands | surrounded by shoals and reefs that can pose maritime hazards |
| Atlantic Ocean | icebergs common in Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, and the northwestern Atlantic Ocean from February to August and have been spotted as far south as Bermuda and the Madeira Islands; ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme northern Atlantic from October to May; persistent fog can be a maritime hazard from May to September; hurricanes (May to December) |
| Australia | cyclones along the coast; severe droughts; forest fires |
| Austria | landslides; avalanches; earthquakes |
| Azerbaijan | droughts |
| Bahamas, The | hurricanes and other tropical storms cause extensive flood and wind damage |
| Bahrain | periodic droughts; dust storms |
| Bangladesh | droughts; cyclones; much of the country routinely inundated during the summer monsoon season |
| Barbados | infrequent hurricanes; periodic landslides |
| Belarus | NA |
| Belgium | flooding is a threat along rivers and in areas of reclaimed coastal land, protected from the sea by concrete dikes |
| Belize | frequent, devastating hurricanes (June to November) and coastal flooding (especially in south) |
| Benin | hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March |
| Bermuda | hurricanes (June to November) |
| 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 |
| Bolivia | flooding in the northeast (March-April) |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | destructive earthquakes |
| Botswana | periodic droughts; seasonal August winds blow from the west, carrying sand and dust across the country, which can obscure visibility |
| Bouvet Island | NA |
| Brazil | recurring droughts in northeast; floods and occasional frost in south |
| British Indian Ocean Territory | NA |
| British Virgin Islands | hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October) |
| Brunei | typhoons, earthquakes, and severe flooding are rare |
| Bulgaria | earthquakes; landslides |
| Burkina Faso | recurring droughts |
| Burma | destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and landslides common during rainy season (June to September); periodic droughts |
| Burundi | flooding; landslides; drought |
| Cambodia | monsoonal rains (June to November); flooding; occasional droughts |
| Cameroon | volcanic activity with periodic releases of poisonous gases from Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun volcanoes |
| 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 |
| Cape Verde | prolonged droughts; seasonal harmattan wind produces obscuring dust; volcanically and seismically active |
| Cayman Islands | hurricanes (July to November) |
| Central African Republic | hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds affect northern areas; floods are common |
| Chad | hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds occur in north; periodic droughts; locust plagues |
| Chile | severe earthquakes; active volcanism; tsunamis |
| China | frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts; land subsidence |
| Christmas Island | the narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can be a maritime hazard |
| Clipperton Island | NA |
| Cocos (Keeling) Islands | cyclone season is October to April |
| Colombia | highlands subject to volcanic eruptions; occasional earthquakes; periodic droughts |
| Comoros | cyclones possible during rainy season (December to April); Le Karthala on Grand Comore is an active volcano |
| 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 |
| Congo, Republic of the | seasonal flooding |
| Cook Islands | typhoons (November to March) |
| Coral Sea Islands | occasional tropical cyclones |
| Costa Rica | occasional earthquakes, hurricanes along Atlantic coast; frequent flooding of lowlands at onset of rainy season and landslides; active volcanoes |
| Cote d'Ivoire | coast has heavy surf and no natural harbors; during the rainy season torrential flooding is possible |
| Croatia | destructive earthquakes |
| Cuba | the east coast is subject to hurricanes from August to November (in general, the country averages about one hurricane every other year); droughts are common |
| Cyprus | moderate earthquake activity; droughts |
| Czech Republic | flooding |
| Denmark | flooding is a threat in some areas of the country (e.g., parts of Jutland, along the southern coast of the island of Lolland) that are protected from the sea by a system of dikes |
| Djibouti | earthquakes; droughts; occasional cyclonic disturbances from the Indian Ocean bring heavy rains and flash floods |
| Dominica | flash floods are a constant threat; destructive hurricanes can be expected during the late summer months |
| Dominican Republic | lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding; periodic droughts |
| Ecuador | frequent earthquakes; landslides; volcanic activity; floods; periodic droughts |
| Egypt | periodic droughts; frequent earthquakes; flash floods; landslides; hot, driving windstorm called khamsin occurs in spring; dust storms; sandstorms |
| El Salvador | known as the Land of Volcanoes; frequent and sometimes destructive earthquakes and volcanic activity; extremely susceptible to hurricanes |
| Equatorial Guinea | violent windstorms; flash floods |
| Eritrea | frequent droughts; locust swarms |
| Estonia | sometimes flooding occurs in the spring |
| Ethiopia | geologically active Great Rift Valley susceptible to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions; frequent droughts |
| European Union | flooding along coasts; avalanches in mountainous area; earthquakes in the south; volcanic eruptions in Italy; periodic droughts in Spain; ice floes in the Baltic |
| Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) | strong winds persist throughout the year |
| Faroe Islands | NA |
| Fiji | cyclonic storms can occur from November to January |
| Finland | NA |
| France |
metropolitan France: flooding; avalanches; midwinter windstorms; drought; forest fires in south near the Mediterranean
overseas departments: hurricanes (cyclones); flooding; volcanic activity (Guadeloupe, Martinique, Reunion) |
| French Polynesia | occasional cyclonic storms in January |
| French Southern and Antarctic Lands | Ile Amsterdam and Ile Saint-Paul are inactive volcanoes; Iles Eparses subject to periodic cyclones; Bassas da India is a maritime hazard since it is under water for a period of three hours prior to and following the high tide and surrounded by reefs |
| Gabon | NA |
| Gambia, The | drought (rainfall has dropped by 30% in the last 30 years) |
| Gaza Strip | droughts |
| Georgia | earthquakes |
| Germany | flooding |
| Ghana | dry, dusty, northeastern harmattan winds occur from January to March; droughts |
| Gibraltar | NA |
| Greece | severe earthquakes |
| Greenland | continuous permafrost over northern two-thirds of the island |
| Grenada | lies on edge of hurricane belt; hurricane season lasts from June to November |
| Guam | frequent squalls during rainy season; relatively rare but potentially destructive typhoons (June - December) |
| Guatemala | numerous volcanoes in mountains, with occasional violent earthquakes; Caribbean coast extremely susceptible to hurricanes and other tropical storms |
| Guernsey | NA |
| Guinea | hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season |
| Guinea-Bissau | hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season; brush fires |
| Guyana | flash floods are a constant threat during rainy seasons |
| Haiti | lies in the middle of the hurricane belt and subject to severe storms from June to October; occasional flooding and earthquakes; periodic droughts |
| Heard Island and McDonald Islands | Mawson Peak, an active volcano, is on Heard Island |
| Holy See (Vatican City) | NA |
| Honduras | frequent, but generally mild, earthquakes; extremely susceptible to damaging hurricanes and floods along the Caribbean coast |
| Hong Kong | occasional typhoons |
| Iceland | earthquakes and volcanic activity |
| India | droughts; flash floods, as well as widespread and destructive flooding from monsoonal rains; severe thunderstorms; earthquakes |
| Indian Ocean | occasional icebergs pose navigational hazard in southern reaches |
| Indonesia | occasional floods; severe droughts; tsunamis; earthquakes; volcanoes; forest fires |
| Iran | periodic droughts, floods; dust storms, sandstorms; earthquakes |
| Iraq | dust storms; sandstorms; floods |
| Ireland | NA |
| Isle of Man | NA |
| Israel | sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; droughts; periodic earthquakes |
| Italy | regional risks include landslides, mudflows, avalanches, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding; land subsidence in Venice |
| Jamaica | hurricanes (especially July to November) |
| Jan Mayen | dominated by the volcano Haakon VII Toppen/Beerenberg; volcanic activity resumed in 1970; the most recent eruption occurred in 1985 |
| Japan | many dormant and some active volcanoes; about 1,500 seismic occurrences (mostly tremors) every year; tsunamis; typhoons |
| Jersey | NA |
| Jordan | droughts; periodic earthquakes |
| Kazakhstan | earthquakes in the south; mudslides around Almaty |
| Kenya | recurring drought; flooding during rainy seasons |
| Kiribati | typhoons can occur any time, but usually November to March; occasional tornadoes; low level of some of the islands make them sensitive to changes in sea level |
| Korea, North | late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall |
| Korea, South | occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; low-level seismic activity common in southwest |
| 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 |
| Kyrgyzstan | NA |
| Laos | floods, droughts |
| Latvia | NA |
| Lebanon | dust storms, sandstorms |
| Lesotho | periodic droughts |
| Liberia | dust-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to March) |
| Libya | hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms |
| Liechtenstein | NA |
| Lithuania | NA |
| Luxembourg | NA |
| Macau | typhoons |
| Macedonia | high seismic risks |
| Madagascar | periodic cyclones; drought; and locust infestation |
| Malawi | NA |
| Malaysia | flooding; landslides; forest fires |
| Maldives | tsunamis; low elevation of islands makes them sensitive to sea level rise |
| Mali | hot, dust-laden harmattan haze common during dry seasons; recurring droughts; occasional Niger River flooding |
| Malta | NA |
| Marshall Islands | infrequent typhoons |
| Mauritania | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind blows primarily in March and April; periodic droughts |
| Mauritius | cyclones (November to April); almost completely surrounded by reefs that may pose maritime hazards |
| Mayotte | cyclones during rainy season |
| 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 |
| Micronesia, Federated States of | typhoons (June to December) |
| Moldova | landslides |
| Monaco | NA |
| Mongolia | dust storms; grassland and forest fires; drought; "zud," which is harsh winter conditions |
| Montenegro | destructive earthquakes |
| Montserrat | severe hurricanes (June to November); volcanic eruptions (Soufriere Hills volcano has erupted continuously since 1995) |
| Morocco | northern mountains geologically unstable and subject to earthquakes; periodic droughts |
| Mozambique | severe droughts; devastating cyclones and floods in central and southern provinces |
| Namibia | prolonged periods of drought |
| Nauru | periodic droughts |
| Navassa Island | hurricanes |
| Nepal | severe thunderstorms; flooding; landslides; drought and famine depending on the timing, intensity, and duration of the summer monsoons |
| Netherlands | flooding |
| Netherlands Antilles | Sint Maarten, Saba, and Sint Eustatius are subject to hurricanes from July to October; Curacao and Bonaire are south of Caribbean hurricane belt and are rarely threatened |
| New Caledonia | cyclones, most frequent from November to March |
| New Zealand | earthquakes are common, though usually not severe; volcanic activity |
| Nicaragua | destructive earthquakes; volcanoes; landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes |
| Niger | recurring droughts |
| Nigeria | periodic droughts; flooding |
| Niue | typhoons |
| Norfolk Island | typhoons (especially May to July) |
| Northern Mariana Islands | active volcanoes on Pagan and Agrihan; typhoons (especially August to November) |
| Norway | rockslides, avalanches |
| Oman | summer winds often raise large sandstorms and dust storms in interior; periodic droughts |
| Pacific Ocean | surrounded by a zone of violent volcanic and earthquake activity sometimes referred to as the "Pacific Ring of Fire"; subject to tropical cyclones (typhoons) in southeast and east Asia from May to December (most frequent from July to October); tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico and strike Central America and Mexico from June to October (most common in August and September); cyclical El Nino/La Nina phenomenon occurs in the equatorial Pacific, influencing weather in the Western Hemisphere and the western Pacific; ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme north from October to May; persistent fog in the northern Pacific can be a maritime hazard from June to December |
| Pakistan | frequent earthquakes, occasionally severe especially in north and west; flooding along the Indus after heavy rains (July and August) |
| Palau | typhoons (June to December) |
| Panama | occasional severe storms and forest fires in the Darien area |
| 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 |
| Paracel Islands | typhoons |
| Paraguay | local flooding in southeast (early September to June); poorly drained plains may become boggy (early October to June) |
| Peru | earthquakes, tsunamis, flooding, landslides, mild volcanic activity |
| Philippines | astride typhoon belt, usually affected by 15 and struck by five to six cyclonic storms per year; landslides; active volcanoes; destructive earthquakes; tsunamis |
| Pitcairn Islands | typhoons (especially November to March) |
| Poland | flooding |
| Portugal | Azores subject to severe earthquakes |
| Puerto Rico | periodic droughts; hurricanes |
| Qatar | haze, dust storms, sandstorms common |
| Romania | 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 |
| Rwanda | periodic droughts; the volcanic Virunga mountains are in the northwest along the border with Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha | active volcanism on Tristan da Cunha, last eruption in 1961 |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | hurricanes (July to October) |
| Saint Lucia | hurricanes; volcanic activity |
| Saint Pierre and Miquelon | persistent fog throughout the year can be a maritime hazard |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | hurricanes; Soufriere volcano on the island of Saint Vincent is a constant threat |
| Samoa | occasional typhoons; active volcanism |
| San Marino | NA |
| Sao Tome and Principe | NA |
| Saudi Arabia | frequent sand and dust storms |
| Senegal | lowlands seasonally flooded; periodic droughts |
| Serbia | destructive earthquakes |
| Seychelles | lies outside the cyclone belt, so severe storms are rare; short droughts possible |
| Sierra Leone | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms |
| Singapore | NA |
| Slovakia | NA |
| Slovenia | flooding; earthquakes |
| Solomon Islands | typhoons, but rarely destructive; geologically active region with frequent earthquakes, tremors, and volcanic activity; tsunamis |
| Somalia | recurring droughts; frequent dust storms over eastern plains in summer; floods during rainy season |
| South Africa | prolonged droughts |
| South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands | the South Sandwich Islands have prevailing weather conditions that generally make them difficult to approach by ship; they are also subject to active volcanism |
| Southern Ocean | huge icebergs with drafts up to several hundred meters; smaller bergs and iceberg fragments; sea ice (generally 0.5 to 1 m thick) with sometimes dynamic short-term variations and with large annual and interannual variations; deep continental shelf floored by glacial deposits varying widely over short distances; high winds and large waves much of the year; ship icing, especially May-October; most of region is remote from sources of search and rescue |
| Spain | periodic droughts, occasional flooding |
| Spratly Islands | typhoons; numerous reefs and shoals pose a serious maritime hazard |
| Sri Lanka | occasional cyclones and tornadoes |
| Sudan | dust storms and periodic persistent droughts |
| Suriname | NA |
| 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 |
| Swaziland | drought |
| Sweden | ice floes in the surrounding waters, especially in the Gulf of Bothnia, can interfere with maritime traffic |
| Switzerland | avalanches, landslides; flash floods |
| Syria | dust storms, sandstorms |
| Taiwan | earthquakes; typhoons |
| Tajikistan | earthquakes; floods |
| Tanzania | flooding on the central plateau during the rainy season; drought |
| Thailand | land subsidence in Bangkok area resulting from the depletion of the water table; droughts |
| Timor-Leste | floods and landslides are common; earthquakes; tsunamis; tropical cyclones |
| Togo | hot, dry harmattan wind can reduce visibility in north during winter; periodic droughts |
| Tokelau | lies in Pacific typhoon belt |
| Tonga | cyclones (October to April); earthquakes and volcanic activity on Fonuafo'ou |
| Trinidad and Tobago | outside usual path of hurricanes and other tropical storms |
| Tunisia | NA |
| Turkey | severe earthquakes, especially in northern Turkey, along an arc extending from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van |
| Turkmenistan | NA |
| Turks and Caicos Islands | frequent hurricanes |
| Tuvalu | severe tropical storms are usually rare, but in 1997 there were three cyclones; low level of islands make them sensitive to changes in sea level |
| Uganda | NA |
| Ukraine | NA |
| United Arab Emirates | frequent sand and dust storms |
| United Kingdom | winter windstorms; floods |
| United States | tsunamis; volcanoes; earthquake activity around Pacific Basin; hurricanes along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts; tornadoes in the Midwest and Southeast; mud slides in California; forest fires in the west; flooding; permafrost in northern Alaska, a major impediment to development |
| United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges |
Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands: the narrow fringing reef surrounding the island can be a maritime hazard
Kingman Reef: wet or awash most of the time, maximum elevation of less than 2 m makes Kingman Reef a maritime hazard Midway Islands, Johnston, and Palmyra Atolls: NA |
| Uruguay | seasonally high winds (the pampero is a chilly and occasional violent wind that 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 |
| Uzbekistan | NA |
| Vanuatu | tropical cyclones or typhoons (January to April); volcanic eruption on Aoba (Ambae) island began on 27 November 2005, volcanism also causes minor earthquakes; tsunamis |
| Venezuela | subject to floods, rockslides, mudslides; periodic droughts |
| Vietnam | occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding, especially in the Mekong River delta |
| Virgin Islands | several hurricanes in recent years; frequent and severe droughts and floods; occasional earthquakes |
| Wake Island | occasional typhoons |
| Wallis and Futuna | NA |
| West Bank | droughts |
| Western Sahara | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility |
| World | large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones); natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions) |
| Yemen | sandstorms and dust storms in summer |
| Zambia | periodic drought; tropical storms (November to April) |
| Zimbabwe | recurring droughts; floods and severe storms are rare |