(Ecofin Agency) - According to Verisk Maplecroft’s ranking of countries most vulnerable to natural disasters around the globe released on March 23, 2016, African nations top the ranking.

Truly, eight out of the nine countries most vulnerable to the 11 types of natural disasters including earthquakes, tropical cyclones, floods, winter storms, fires and tsunamis are African.

Southern Sudan tops the global ranking ahead of Burundi and Afghanistan. 

Eritrea, Chad, Niger, Sudan, Mali and Democratic Republic of Congo follow. The nine countries have been put under the “extreme risk” category.

Verisk Maplecroft attributes vulnerability of African nations to natural disasters to poor governance, high levels of poverty and corruption, and weak infrastructure which “amplify economic and human losses associated with natural hazards”.

Nigeria is the only African country in the Top 10 countries under the Natural Hazards Population Exposure Index. It comes 8^th behind India, China, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines, the United States and Japan.