Latin America and the Caribbean: the second most prone region to natural disasters

Latin America and the Caribbean is the second most disaster-prone region in the world, according to a new report by the UN Office of Humanitarian Affairs released this week.

Since 2000, 152 million Latin Americans and Caribbeans have been affected by 1205 disasters including floods, hurricanes and storms, earthquakes, droughts, avalanches, fires, extreme temperatures and volcanic events.

From 2000 to date, the region has faced an average of 17 hurricanes annually and 23 of them have been Category 5.

According to the UN, the storms affecting Central America and the Caribbean are becoming more powerful and producing an increase in rainfall and greater swell due to climate change.

More frequent and intense storms in the region mean there is less time for recovery between events, as the case of Dominica attests.

The country was still recovering from the impact of Tropical Storm Erika in 2015, when in 2017 it was completely devastated by Hurricane Maria, which killed 64 people and affected the entire estimated population living on the island, some 71,293 people.

In the last 20 years, the countries most affected by storms in the region have been Cuba, Mexico and Haiti with 110 storms, 5,000 deaths, 29 million people injured and 39,000 million dollars in total damage.

It is important to note, however, that more than 85% of those deaths were recorded in Haiti, the poorest and most vulnerable country in the Caribbean.

2017 was the third worst season in all all historical records for the number and magnitude of disasters, but the strongest Atlantic hurricane to register a direct impact to land was Dorian in 2019, which at its peak brought winds of more than 350 km / h and a storm surge of seven meters over the Bahamas.

On his path of destruction, Dorian slowed down and remained nearly stationary for 26 hours on Grand Bahama and the Abaco Islands where he crushed thousands of homes, knocked down energy and sanitation infrastructure and destroyed roads. In addition, it wiped out two settlements where mostly Haitian migrants lived.

However, OCHA clarifies that “weak” storms can become as damaging as the strongest: On October 28, 2015, Tropical Storm Erika passed well north of Dominica as a weak tropical storm with sustained winds of only 80 km / h, but what it lacked in intensity, it compensated with rain.

Torrential downpours (maximum totals of 32 cm) caused flash floods and landslides, leaving 20 dead and affecting approximately 40% of the population. The total damage caused by Erika amounted to 483 million, or 90% of the country’s GDP.

Some 34 million people throughout the region, especially in Mexico and the Caribbean islands, were the total affected by these natural phenomena in the past 20 years.

Earthquakes: Chile and Peru have had the strongest

In the same period the region has experienced 75 earthquakes, resulting in 226,000 deaths and 339,000 injuries. In total, earthquakes have affected 14 million people and caused damage of up to $54 billion.

The region as a whole is vulnerable to earthquakes, but Central and South America has a higher exposure compared to the Caribbean.

Central America and the west coast of the South American continent are situated within the “Ring of Fire”, a road located along the Pacific Ocean characterized by active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes.

The western coast of South America is one of the most seismic zones in the world: more than a quarter of the world’s earthquakes of magnitude 8.0 or more occurred there since 2000.

Recent seismological studies have identified large areas along the coast of Ecuador, Peru and northern Chile that could produce large-scale earthquakes in the future. There is a possibility of an earthquake of magnitude 9.0 or greater in this part of South America, with the Arica seismic gap in northern Chile identified as the locus of such an intense earthquake.

The countries with the highest risk of earthquakes are Chile, Ecuador, and Guatemala, followed by Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and El Salvador.

From highest to lowest, the strongest earthquakes since 2000 in the region have been: Chile in 2010, 8.8 on the Richter scale; Peru in 2001, 8.4; Chile in 2015, 8.3; Chile in 2014, 8.3; Peru in 2007, 8.0; Ecuador in 2016, 7.8; El Salvador in 2001, 7.7; and Haiti in 2010, 7.0.

Haiti alone accounted for 98% of deaths, 89% of those injured and 27% of those affected by earthquakes in the last two decades across the Caribbean in 2010.

The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic event exacerbated by the extreme vulnerability of the population and the lack of preparedness and response capacity of national authorities. Unlike Haiti, Chile has rigorous building codes, performs periodic evacuation simulations, and has systems in place to alert the population before an earthquake.

Importantly, the high frequency of small and medium-sized earthquakes in Chile, which normally cause limited damage, has served to create a culture of earthquake preparedness among Chileans on a daily basis.

Volcanoes: the latent threat of the “Ring of Fire”

Active volcanoes can be monitored regularly and their eruption potential can be accurately predicted. Volcanic eruptions usually have a localized impact and can lead to temporary displacement and loss of livelihoods, which can be effectively addressed by national authorities.

In some cases, however, eruptions may require international assistance if national response capacity is overwhelmed, as was the case in Ecuador in 2006 and Guatemala in 2010.

Many countries in Central and South America are situated along the “Ring of Fire”, which stretches from Mexico to Chile in the region, exposing them to volcanic activity. The Caribbean is also vulnerable to volcanic activity, with active volcanoes in Montserrat, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Guadeloupe and Martinique.

There is also a highly active underwater volcano, Kick ’em Jenny, which is located in the Grenadine island chain, just 8 km north of Grenada.

Volcanic eruptions, although much less frequent, have the potential to cause 100% destruction and, by extension, lead to significant death tolls in the most severely affected areas.

The impact of a volcanic eruption depends largely on the local context in which it occurs. While an eruption in Central and South America could lead to significant destruction, temporary displacement and loss of life, a similar event in the Caribbean could cause devastating long-term consequences, delaying a country’s development for years.

On June 3, 2018, Guatemala’s 3,763-meter Fuego Volcano erupted, killing more than 200 people, injuring 27 and leaving some 260 people missing. The eruption of the Fuego Volcano was one of the most devastating events in recent years, reinforcing the threat of volcanic activity in the region and its potential for significant destruction.

The volcano emitted an eight-kilometer hot lava stream and a dense plume of black smoke and ash that covered Guatemala’s capital and other regions. Ash plumes and mudflow from the Fuego Volcano affected 1.7 million people in three departments surrounding the volcano, destroying agricultural land and livelihoods. It was the largest eruption of that volcano in 44 years.

Floods and landslides: a recurring hazard

Flooding is the most common disaster in the region. In the last 20 years, 548 of these phenomena have been recorded, with losses reaching 1 billion dollars. Some 53 million people were directly affected.

Brazil is among the main countries in the world with the largest population exposed to these catastrophes, but Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia, Uruguay and Argentina have also been affected. In Colombia, more than 10 million people have suffered this type of disaster in recent years, the largest amount of population in the region.

Floods are considered one of the most costly natural disasters due to the wide variety and extent of damage, from direct losses to physical and environmental assets, including belongings and housing, ecological systems and production in all economic sectors, to issues related to health and loss of human life.

Landslides affected Guatemala and Colombia

Since 2000, Latin America and the Caribbean has been affected by 66 landslides that caused nearly 3000 deaths. In recent years, the landslide in Guatemala in 2015, which caused 350 deaths, and Colombia in 2017, which caused 349 deaths and affected more than 45,000 people, stand out as particularly destructive landslide events in the region.

There are many different types of landslides and they almost always have multiple causes, including rainfall, changes in water level, stream erosion, earthquakes, and volcanic activity. Human activity can also be a causal factor in these disasters. The construction of roads and structures without adequate leveling of the slopes is the main human cause.

Stationary drought

While it is difficult to accurately measure its impact, according to available data released in the OCHA report, the drought has contributed to 45 deaths, affected more than 53 million people, and caused more than $13 billion in total damage.

“There is a clear link between certain weather patterns and drought in the region,” the report highlights.

The El Niño phenomenon contributes to drought in South America, including the Andean areas of Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, as well as northeastern Brazil, and in Central America it caused severe droughts that led to a prolonged crisis in the Dry Corridor of Central America, specifically in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua.

The 2015-2016 El Niño event was one of the strongest of the last century, causing severe disruptions in weather patterns that led to floods and droughts during different phases. These recurrent climate shocks, which generate cyclical dry periods and torrential rains, have had serious consequences and impact on food security and agricultural production, harming livelihoods, health, water, sanitation and education.

Between June and August 2018, the Central American Dry Corridor reduced agricultural production by up to 75%. As a result, more than 2.2 million people in these countries are food insecure and more than 1.4 million people are in need of assistance.

Forest fires

Wildfires occur throughout the region, particularly where there is drought and strong winds, phenomena that combine to intensify and spread them. Most of the time, wildfires occur far from human settlements and are consumed without causing major damage to critical infrastructure or communities.

However, wildfires have the potential to be extremely destructive, as seen in Brazil when they swept through vast areas of the Amazon, and in Bolivia, where they burned more than 5 million hectares of land in the east.

Source: UN News