Two new studies have revealed that more people now face damage than ever before on account of earthquakes, droughts, floods and other disasters. And, this is mainly owing to a sharp rise in urban populations in developing countries.

Slums in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
According to one of the studies— conducted by the United Nations and titled the Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction, smaller or poorer countries could be destroyed by disasters which would relatively affect little those places that are protected by size or wealth.