12 Countries At 'Extreme Risk' Of Natural Disasters (PHOTOS): Natural Disasters Risk Index

A new study has ranked Bangladesh as the world nation most at risk for extreme weather and natural disasters.

The Natural Disasters Risk Index (NDRI), released last month by British advisory firm Maplecroft, is calculated by measuring the frequency of natural disasters in a given nation over the past 30 years, as well as their human impact in terms of number of deaths that were caused and the death toll as a proportion of the total population. Developed to identify the vulnerability of a given country to such events occurring, the methodology covers earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, drought, landslides, extreme temperatures and other epidemics.

Out of 229 countries surveyed, 15 countries were designated as facing "extreme" risk. The report also ranked France, Italy and the U.S. at "high" risk, the next category down from "extreme."

"Poverty is an important factor in countries where both the frequency and impacts of natural disasters are severe," Maplecroft's environmental analyst, Anna Moss, told Agence France Presse.

See the 12 countries at highest risk for natural disasters below.