I’d say there’s about a 73.1% chance.
[quote=“rice_t”]EDITED: updated link and location of the relevant info
ldeo.columbia.edu/chrr/resea … /maps.html
and click on “Countries Most Exposed to Multiple Hazards” to download a pdf
Right in the beginning you will find
Countries Most Exposed to Multiple Hazards
Three or more hazards (top 15 based on land area)
Taiwan is number one with
Percent of Total Area Exposed 73.1%
Percent of Population Exposed 73.1 %
Max. Number of Hazards 4
Taiwan is the most dangerous place on earth. Why do I live here?
What is YOUR favourite natural hazard?[/quote]
Thank you. TRULY thank you. As IF I needed ANOTHER reason to be pining for that US$15,000 bungalow an hour south of Bangkok. Dammit. Why do I live here? Because my business is here for the moment (and going to be put up for sale in 3-5 years). Simple as that (do I like Taiwan? errrr…well…I can definitely think of places I’d rather live, and NOW add to that list “ANYWHERE with less than 3 natural hazards”).
My CURRENT favorite natural hazards are Tuk-Tuk drivers in Bangkok, followed closely by film processing outsize of Taipei (what’d’ya mean you didn’t want your film processed by 'gators?? Crazy waiguoren)…
…oh, and my cat qualifies as a natural hazard…errr…when do kitten teeth fall out? Them thangs is dangerous! 
[quote=“david”][quote=“rice_t”]Countries Most Exposed to Multiple Hazards
Three or more hazards (top 15 based on land area)
Taiwan is number one with
Percent of Total Area Exposed 73.1%
Percent of Population Exposed 73.1 %
Max. Number of Hazards 4[/quote]
These figures seem remarkably pointless/arbitrary.
- What are the 4 hazards? I’m guessing (after browsing the site) that they are: Earthquake, Typhoon, Landslide & Flooding. But Landslide & Flooding are a direct result of Earthquake & Typhoon, so there are actually 2 hazards.
- How do they come up with the 73.1% figure? (Wow! Down to 1 decimal place accuracy!
). Which bits of Taiwan are not exposed to earthquakes or typhoons? If you’re on the West coast, you’re less exposed than in the mountains - but I’d say 100% of Taiwan is ‘exposed’ to both. If you’re talking about a serious danger to your life, then you’re basically talking about the mountains/East coast only (there is a small danger in e.g. Taipei, but that’s more down to safety/building standards than natural hazards). - Finally, I am trying to work out how it is possible to partition a map of Taiwan so that the land percentage is exactly the same as the population coverage (73.1%). Taiwan is made up of vaguely flat, massively overpopulated areas, and vaguely vertical, almost unpopulated areas. The safest bits of Taiwan must be the flatter west-coast bits, which are the populated areas. So how come the ‘area exposed’ figure isn’t significantly higher than the ‘population exposed’ figure?
Could it be they just pulled the figures out of their arses?[/quote]
If you look at the next table you will find Taiwan next to HK in the section two hazards (presumably Typhoon and Earthquake) with a 99% ratio for both population and area. That explains at least partly the admittedly strange correspondence.
As I said, I am not trying to say that the results of is study are correct. Perhaps it is just another crap study.