Why are natural disasters along the Ring of Fire more likely to kill more people today than they were 100 years ago?

Because volcanoes are more active

Answer: In the last 100 years, populations in the countries of Southeast Asia have expanded rapidly, resulting in large overall populations today. In addition, the population density of these nations is often high, especially along the coastal regions of these mostly mountainous and rugged volcanic islands. For these reasons, tsunamis, which are produced by offshore earthquakes, are particularly devastating for coastal areas.