Figure 10.14: Large cities in relation to current climate-related hazards. Not all large cities are located in hazardous environments, but you can see from this map that there is significant correlation between urbanization and vulnerability to natural hazards. What makes the situation even more grave is that many of the most vulnerable cities contain large numbers of people living in conditions that add to their vulnerability, such as poorly built housing.
(Source: Alex de Sherbenin, Andrew Schiller, and Alex Pulsipher, 2007.)