Panama has region's lowest risk of disaster

Panama is the Central American country, which is least vulnerable to threats to human safety and property caused by natural disasters, according to the 2016 WorldRisk Index of United Nations University.

At the same time, 106 places are less risky than Panama, while the rest of the region is even worse, including four Central American countries, which are among the world’s 15 most vulnerable, including Guatemala in the fourth position.

Qatar is the safest of 171 countries and territories, while Vanuatu is last in the ranking, in which a low number means high risk.

The ranking measures the degree of exposure to natural disasters, including storms, earthquakes and disease, as well as the preparedness to deal with them, with responses ranging from the quality of infrastructure to training and organization of personnel (numbers in brackets indicate global position).

1            Guatemala (4)
2            Costa Rica (8)
3            El Salvador (11)
4            Nicaragua (14)
5            Honduras (30)
6            Panamá (65)