London: India has featured in the league table of countries, which will be worst affected in the event of an asteroid strike.
Scientists at Southampton University have revealed the names of the countries most likely to suffer catastrophic loss of life or be so crippled it will be almost impossible for them to recover.
Developed countries make up the majority of those on the list, but China is there too because of the sheer number of people who would die.
Even smaller countries like Sweden are in grave danger because of the damage to their infrastructure.
The threat of asteroids came after a rock the size of a small house zipped past Earth at a distance of 7,500 miles earlier this week.
The list has been compiled using software called called NEOimpactor, short for NASA’s ‘NEO’ or Near Earth Object programme.
Looking at population loss, the U.S, China, Indonesia, India and Japan are most in danger.
Those countries which face massive devastation to their infrastructure are Canada, the U.S, China, Japan and Sweden.
“The threat of Earth being hit by an asteroid is increasingly being accepted as the single greatest natural disaster hazard faced by humanity,” the Daily Mail quoted Nick Bailey, of the University of Southampton, who developed the NEOimpactor software, as saying.
“The consequences for human populations and infrastructure as a result of an impact are enormous,” he added.
The countries most at risk:
China
Indonesia
India
Japan
US
The Philippines
Italy
Britain
Brazil
Nigeria
ANI
First Published: Thursday, June 30, 2011, 14:16