India second in world for natural disasters

IBN News via Press Trust of India: India ranks second in the world for natural disasters after China, a top UN official has said underlining that unplanned urbanisation and failure to address the issue of climate change pose a grave threat worldwide.

The two rapidly growing countries in the world, China and India, rank first and second in the number of reported natural disasters. While China witnessed 22 natural disasters, India came second with 16.…The loss of lives and destruction to property was several times higher in China which witnessed landslides, earthquakes, and floods on an increasing scale.

"Unless we act now, we will see more and more disasters due to unplanned urbanisation and environmental degradation," warned Margareta Wahlstrom, the special representative to the UN Secretary General for disaster reduction. "It's critical for local governments, city leaders and their partners to incorporate climate change adaptation in urban planning, said the UN official....