The Burrow
Nov 7, 2025
Natural disasters are a terrifying phenomenon. From floods to fires, these natural occurrences can shake up our lives and, for those living in disaster prone areas, cause a constant level of anxiety.
The home and contents insurance comparison experts at Compare the Market Australia wanted to take a look and gain a better understanding of which countries are the most concerned about natural disasters.
To do this, we looked at the average monthly search volume (over the past year) per capita for terms relating to preparing for what to do during different natural disasters, as well as insurance terms relating to different types of disasters.
Here’s what we found.
New Zealand placed as the most earthquake-anxious country in our study, with almost 6 (5.71) searches per million on how to prepare for an earthquake. Australia followed its’ neighbour closely in second with 5.56 searches per million. Surprisingly, despite Ireland only feeling five recorded earthquakes within the last 35 years, the country places with the third highest earthquake-anxiety with 3.77 searches per million.1
When it comes to advice for what to do during an earthquake, Italy was the most active, with 18.60 searches per million. Australia (18.54 per million) and New Zealand (13.33 per million) followed closely as the second and third most active searchers, respectively.
In terms of insurance searches, Japan housed by far the most ‘earthquake insurance’ searches, with 154.34 searches per million. This was followed by a distant USA (15.55 per million) and Canada (4.98 per million).
Dubbed with many names across the globe, the destruction brought along by cyclones (also known as hurricanes when developed over the North Atlantic, central North Pacific and eastern North Pacific, as well as typhoons when formed in the Northwest Pacific2) understandably bring with them a high level of anxiety.
Australia placed as the country with the highest level of cyclone anxiety, with a search volume of 77.85 per million relating to cyclone preparation. This could be largely due to Severe Tropical Cyclone Alfred, which hit North-East Queensland in early 2025.3 The USA (10.65 per million) and New Zealand (3.81 per million) followed as the second and third most cyclone-anxious countries within the study.
These three countries each land the same placements for advice during a cyclone, with 11.12 Australians per million seeking an understanding of what to do in the middle of a cyclone, followed again by the USA (2.30 per million) and New Zealand (1.90 per million).
When it comes to cyclone-related insurance searches, however, the USA lands with the highest volume, with 4.90 searches per million. New Zealand and Ireland followed with search volumes of 1.90 and 1.88 per million respectively.
Despite the nation only experiencing six recorded tsunamis since the year 2000, Australia (5.56 per million) placed as the nation with the highest level of tsunami anxiety.4 The USA (4.90 per million) and Canada (2.24 per million) follow this up as the countries with the second and third highest tsunami-anxiety related search volume.
In terms of what to do during a tsunami, New Zealanders (3.81 per million) are the most active in searching, despite the nation only seeing a tsunami once every ten years on average.5 Similarly, New Zealanders were also the most active when looking at tsunami insurance, with 1.90 searches per million, Ireland in close second with 1.88 per million.
While floods are considered the most common natural disaster, it seems there is a low level of anxiety related to them.6 The USA had the highest level of flood-anxiety within the study, with 3.74 searches per million. Australia (3.34 per million) placed as the second most flood-anxious country.
France placed as the country most interested in advice for what to do during a flood, with 2.25 searches per million population.
In contrast, flood insurance was a much more widely searched term, with the USA housing 66.23 searches per million, indicating a large concern for flood damage within the country. Australia and the UK also showed a high level of interest in flood insurance, placing with 16.68 and 10.06 searches per million respectively.
Across the study, none of the countries indicated a high level of fire-related anxiety within their searches. This could be due to the unexpected and rapid nature of fires, which don’t allow for a high level of preparation.
Italy, however, saw a higher level of search interest when it came to advice during a fire, with 3.38 searches per million. This could reflect the wildfires seen within the region in early 2025.7
By far the highest level of fire interest online was seen in fire insurance, with Japan being the most concerned about coverage for fires, carrying a volume of 536.13 searches per million. Fire insurance was one of the most searched terms within the study, with Canada (17.44 per million), USA (14.11 per million), Sweden (14.08 per million), Ireland (11.30 per million) and New Zealand (9.52 per million) each following with high search volume.
Executive General Manager of General Insurance, Adrian Taylor, notes the importance of understanding what you’re covered for in the event of an emergency.
“Natural disasters are terrible and, unfortunately for some areas, can be unavoidable,” Mr Taylor said.
“If you’re in an area where you’re worried about a certain natural disaster, it’s important to ensure that your home and belongings are appropriately covered, should the worst happen.
“Some events, such as flood damage, may be covered as an optional extra or as a separate policy that can be purchased alongside building and contents insurance.
“When looking to take out home and contents insurance, it’s always good to compare your options and look for a great policy for you, your home and your lifestyle.”
Across our study of 17 countries, search volume was collected for five different natural disasters across three different categories using AHRefs Keywords Explorer. The search terms used were as follows:
For each country, terms were searched using both English and the country’s dominant language (where applicable) and calculated into a search per million population figure. Populations found via Worldometer.