Natural disasters have a greater impact on less economically developed countries (LEDCs) than on more developed countries (MEDCs). To what extent do you agree with this statement? Natural disasters always have disastrous effects. These could be economic, social and/or environmental. Damage to infrastructure can severely hamper economic activity; social effects can include homelessness, disease, loss of life, injury and community destruction; and environmental damage can range from cutting down trees to reshaping the landscape. Although natural disasters can cause one or more of the above-mentioned effects regardless of the country they are affected in, regardless of their economic situation, this essay will explore their differential effect on LEDCs and MEDCs. Overall, in some respects natural disasters can have a greater impact on MEDCs. For example, higher levels of infrastructure can be found in MEDCs, which are expensive to repair if damaged (Wills, 2009 cited in CAE, 2012). It may also be that, although MEDCs are more capable of coping with natural disasters than LEDCs, this ability is not uniform; for example, the Northridge, California, earthquake in 1994 was about 6.7. Although the Northridge earthquake is considered moderate in size, it caused more than $20 billion in damage. This damage was due to ground acceleration, which was one of the highest ever instrumentally recorded in an urban area in North America, measuring 1.8 g (16.7 m/s2) with strong ground motion felt to Las Vegas, Nevada, about 220 miles (360 km) from the epicenter (Wikipedia). Therefore, development levels are not the only indicators that influence the impact of a natural disaster (IRIS edu). However, natural disasters have a greater impact on LEDCs than MEDCs in a number of different cases. .....-to-natural-hazards/• State of the Environment and Policy Retrospective (SEPR): 1972–2002 http://www.grida.no/geo/geo3/english/pdfs/chapter2-9_disasters .pdf , p271• Tectonic Hazards, Tanglin Trust School (TTS) Senior Library, (2013) http://libguides.tts.edu.sg/content.php?pid=442072&sid=3624367,• Thaine, C. 2012, Cambridge Academic English An integrated skills course for EAP, student book, intermediate, Cambridge University Press• The Impacts of Tourism http://www.s-cool.co.uk/gcse/geography/tourism-and-resources/revise -it/the- impacts-of-turismo#68ELKHaDhHpm1413.99• Johns Hopkins and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, p3 http://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/center -for-refugee- and-disaster-response/publications_tools/publications/_CRDR_ICRC_Public_Health_Guide_Book/Chapter_3_Emergency_Health_Services.pdf