Ecuador is paying more and more attention to data collection and disaster risk management across sectors.
The Cruz-Castro Family searching for their belongings after the 2016 earthquake in Pedernales, Ecuador. Photo: Paul Salazar / World Bank.
Disasters occur worldwide and are part of everyone’s life. Ever since they were first recorded, floods, hurricanes and earthquakes have marked the history of humanity and its evolution. Today, our efforts focus on preparing for and responding to the impacts of these events. This way we can reduce material damages and human suffering.
Disaster risk management is a priority for many countries in the Latin America and the Caribbean region.
Landing in Port-au-Prince awakens your senses. Exiting the airplane, you are re-energized by the explosion of colors, the welcoming smiles, and the warm weather – particularly when coming from a cold January in Washington, D.C. Loud honking, a high density of houses and buildings, and streets bustling with pedestrians and small informal businesses are all evidence of the rapid urbanization process in Haiti.
As soon as you land, the challenges of the city are evident; Port-au-Prince expands to the ocean on flat plains exposed to flooding and quickly rises on steep hills with challenging access and risks of landslides and flash floods. The reconstruction efforts after the earthquake in 2010 are still ongoing, and many of the houses seem to be hanging from the sky, perched on steep slopes. If you look at the houses from afar they appear as a single skyscraper, as distance makes the houses seem as if they are built on top of the one another. These false skyscrapers are highly exposed to landslides, flooding and earthquakes.
Imagine you live in a city that floods, sometime for weeks, after extreme rainfalls.
Imagine you live in that flooded city, where you and thousands of your neighbors must find a place to stay till the water has receded, and you finally can get back home, with the fear of finding it devastated.
The city of Trinidad is a place like this, located in Bolivia’s Amazonian low-lands, and with heavy prolonged precipitation, rivers, lagoons and lakes rise, affecting thousands of families.
Overall in Bolivia, 43% of the population lives in areas of high flood risk. Trinidad and other cities in the low-lands experience inundations, while in La Paz, Bolivia’s political center, frequent landslides lead to fatalities and damage to housing and infrastructure.
When you think of Peru, the first city that usually comes to mind is Lima. Why? Well, because Lima is the largest city in the country, with close to 50% of the nation’s urban population living in the metropolitan area; the city also produces 45% of Peru’s GDP. While this level of concentration of population and economic activity may not be a good or bad thing, it points to some imbalances in the urban system in Peru.
“Hurricane Irma was so big that the entire eye of the storm covered all [160km2] of Barbuda.”
So starts the chilling story by a Red Cross volunteer who rode out the Cat 5 storm at home on this island, that has been all but obliterated. Hurricane Irma was the first storm in recorded history that sustained a Cat 5 status for over 3 days.
The world’s third most affected country in terms of climatic events, Haiti seeks to better manage natural hazards to improve resilience
Haiti is highly vulnerable to natural hazards. Situated within the north Atlantic hurricane belt, andsat on top of the boundary between the Caribbean and North American plates, the risks are constant. However, this does not mean that disasters are inevitable.
Troisième pays au monde le plus touché en termes d’événements climatiques, Haïti cherche à mieuxgérer les risques naturels pour améliorer la résilience
Haïti est très vulnérable aux risques naturels. Situé dans la ceinture de l'ouragan de l'Atlantique Nord, etjuste au-dessus de la frontière entre les plaques des Caraïbes et de l'Amérique du Nord, les risques sont permanents. Toutefois, cela ne signifie pas que les catastrophes sont inévitables.
Nous avons visité la région la plus touchée pour voir comment les communautés se rétablissent après le passage de l’ouragan Matthew le 4 octobre 2016.
Deux mois après que l'ouragan ait dévasté les départements du sud d'Haïti, des efforts de reconstruction sont en cours. Dans certaines régions, des panneaux d’acier ondulés tout neufs scintillent sous le soleil, remplaçant les toits emportés par l'ouragan.
We visited the most affected region to see how communities are recovering after the storm on October 4th, 2016.
Two months after Hurricane Matthew devastated the southern provinces of Haiti, rebuilding efforts are underway. In some areas, shiny new corrugated steel panels glimmer under the sun where the hurricane stripped away roofs.
from Apr 17-21. Comment and engage with experts. 
