World Map › Asia › North Korea
Country
Map of North Korea
Asia · Pyongyang
North Korea spans the Amur and Eurasian plates. It has 1 volcano active over the last 10,000 years, 1 of which have erupted since 1900. Its exposure to natural hazards is 4.6 out of 10 (INFORM index), a medium level. Its overall risk index, which accounts for its ability to cope, is 3.6 out of 10.
- Capital
- Pyongyang
- Population
- 26,418,204
- Area
- 120,540 km²
- Continent
- Asia
Tectonic Plates
Natural Hazards
Exposure to natural hazards according to the European Commission's INFORM index, from 0 (very low) to 10 (very high), overall and for each type of hazard.
Overall Risk Index
This overall score combines hazard exposure with the vulnerability of the population (1.7 out of 10) and the lack of coping capacity (6.0 out of 10). A highly exposed but well-prepared country therefore gets a low overall score.
People Exposed Each Year
- 31,286to strong shaking (intensity VI and above)
- 1to tsunamis
- 1,175,869to hurricane-force winds (category 1 and above)
- 117,789to river floods
- 28,304to coastal floods
Overall Risk Index Over Time
Hazard Levels
Hazard level assessed by ThinkHazard! (World Bank, GFDRR), meaning the likelihood of a damaging event, from very low to high.
- River FloodHigh
- Urban FloodHigh
- Coastal FloodHigh
- LandslideHigh
- VolcanoHigh
- CycloneHigh
- WildfireHigh
- EarthquakeMedium
- TsunamiMedium
- Water ScarcityMedium
- Extreme HeatMedium
Volcanoes (1)
Volcanoes active over the last 10,000 years; year of the last known eruption.
Major Earthquakes Since 1900
No major earthquake has been recorded in this country since 1900.
Regions
Regions with volcanoes, major earthquakes, tsunamis, cyclones or famous faults.
Tsunamis
2 major tsunamis have reached North Korea since 1900. The deadliest and highest are listed below.
- 1993Tsunami (Japan) · 2.1 m
- 1940Tsunami (Japan) · 1.0 m
Tropical Cyclones
30 major tropical cyclones have made landfall in North Korea since 1950. The deadliest and most powerful are listed below.
- 1987Typhoon Alex · 28 km/h126 deaths
- 2018Tropical Storm Rumbia · 0 km/h53 deaths
- 2020Typhoon Bavi · 135 km/h
- 2019Typhoon Lingling · 120 km/h
- 2000Typhoon Prapiroon · 102 km/h
- 1953Typhoon Kit · 89 km/h
- 1970Typhoon Billie · 89 km/h
- 1957Typhoon Agnes · 83 km/h
- 1959Typhoon Billie · 83 km/h
- 2012Typhoon Bolaven · 74 km/h
Sources : Natural Earth · Wikidata · INFORM Risk Index (1 September 2026 v 0.7.3), Commission européenne, CC BY 4.0 · NOAA NCEI · ThinkHazard!, GFDRR, CC BY · Bird (2003), PB2002 · Global Volcanism Program, Smithsonian Institution