It is logical to think that the hazards impact depends on a countries level of development. For example, a hazard in a MEDC might cause huge amounts of damage because of the costs of buildings there

When we compare this with the earthquake that struck India, the results are very different. The Bhuj earthquake that shook the Indian Province of Gujarat on the morning of January 26, 2001 (Republic Day) is one of the two most deadly earthquakes to strike India in its recorded history. One month after the earthquake official Government of India figures place the death toll at 19,727 and the number of injured at 166,000. Indications are that 600,000 people were left homeless, with 348,000 houses destroyed and an additional 844,000 damaged. The Indian State Department estimates that the earthquake affected, directly or indirectly, 15.9 million people out of a total population of 37.8 million. More than 20,000 cattle are reported killed. Government estimates place direct economic losses at $1.3 billion. Other estimates indicate losses may be as high as $5 billion.

When we compare these we see that although India has a far greater death toll and many more houses destroyed, the actual cost of the damage was rather insignificant to that of Japan, who although only had nearly a quarter of the deaths in Gujarat, had approximately 40 times the economic loss.

In the case of volcanoes, LEDCs tend to be far more effected than MEDCs. When Mt. St. Helens erupted in 1980, the landscape was destroyed and the wildlife was greatly affected. When we look at a LEDC example, such as Nevado del Ruiz, the damage is far greater. Armero, Colombia, destroyed by lahar on November 13, 1985.More than 23,000 people were killed in Armero when lahars (volcanic debris flows) swept down from the erupting Nevado del Ruiz volcano. When the volcano became restless in 1984, no team of volcanologists existed that could rush to the scene of such an emergency. However, less than a year later, the U.S. Geological Survey organized a team and a portable volcano observatory that could be quickly dispatched to an awakening volcano anywhere in the world.

So when we compare hazards in general with LEDCs and MEDCs, the pattern seems to be the same. In LEDCs the cost of life is often greater than in those of the LEDCs, however the economic damage, despite large losses of buildings, is somewat insignificant to those of the MEDCs, who pay large amounts of money to protect lives and buildings.