The Problem

Over the past 25 years, Central America has experienced a series of extremely devastating natural disasters. Major earthquakes have occurred in Nicaragua in 1972 (10 000 deaths), Guatemala in 1976 (23 000 deaths) and in El Salvador in 1986 (1 100 deaths). Hurricanes in Honduras (1975), Belize (1978), and Nicaragua and Costa Rica (1988) left thousands of homeless people and devastated economies in their wake. In addition, occasional floods, droughts, landslides, volcanic eruptions and smaller earthquakes have put a significant burden on the national economies in the region.

The Proposal

One factor contributing to human losses in such cases is the large number of people, such as squatters displaced by war or poverty, living in the most rudimentary of dwellings. The adoption of suitable building codes and emergency plans are two ways in which loss of human life as a result of natural occurrences could be reduced. It is this aspect that a collaborating network of Central American research centres and non-governmental organizations is attempting to address.

The Approach

National teams in Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala will establish a typology of urban communities at risk from earthquakes, eruptions, flooding, landslides, river contamination and tornadoes. The typology will take into consideration physical and social criteria, as well as past experience in dealing with crises. Working with a selected number of communities, researchers will identify and evaluate a range of preventive and mitigative strategies aimed at reducing the potential impact of natural occurrences, so that they do not become natural disasters.

Further Information:

Quake-proof Adobe Housing, Adventures in Development

Contact:

Mr. Allan Lavell
FLACSO
Apartado 5129
San José
Costa Rica

Tel: (506) 257-0533
Fax: (506) 221-5671

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