'Super cities' watch out for earthquakes

UNDP said global "megacities" have a very high risk of earthquakes.

According to scientific studies of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), published on April 21, global "megacities" have a very high risk of earthquakes. More than 50% of cities with populations of 2 million to 15 million are at risk of experiencing strong earthquakes of 7 or more in the future.

UNDP warns that large cities with high population densities such as Tokyo of Japan, Mexico City of Mexico, Istanbul of Turkey, Port-au-Prince of Haiti . lie on the broken bands of the Earth's crust and had experienced major earthquakes in the past. In the future, it is likely that these disasters will recur, even on a larger scale.

Remember, in 2010, in just 35 seconds, the Haiti earthquake "wiped out" 100% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and killed more than 200,000 people. Meanwhile, the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan also caused losses of nearly 310 billion USD and left more than 20,000 people dead and missing.

UNDP also said that earthquake damage has quadrupled in the past two centuries, mainly due to rapid population growth, especially in developing countries. However, the organization noted that contemporary science could help reduce earthquake damage by implementing preventive measures and calling on super cities to increase investment in mitigation measures. earthquake.