Disaster Risk Management in Central America: GFDRR Country Notes

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Costa rica Natural Disasters from 1980 - 2008 b Affected People Disaster Date Affected (Number of People) Storm 1996 500,000 Storm 1996 216,000 Flood 1991 185,021 Storm 1988 127,500 Flood 2008 92,000 Flood 2002 75,040 Storm 2008 55,000 Flood 2008 53,000 Flood 1993 38,451 Flood 1996 20,000 Economic Damages Disaster Date Cost (US$ x 1,000) Flood 1996 250,000 Storm 1996 200,000 Earthquake* 1991 100,000 Storm 1998 91,090 Flood 2007 80,000 Storm 1988 60,000 Flood 2005 25,000 Drought 1998 23,000 Storm 2005 20,000 Earthquake* 1990 19,500 Statistics by Disaster Type b Population Affected by Disaster Type Economic Damages / Disaster Type (1000s US$) 2% 400,000 350,000 300,000 250,000 68% 200,000 150,000 30% 100,000 50,000 0 Storm Flood Earthquake Drought Earthquake* Flood Storm Relative Vulnerability and Risk Indicators c Major Disaster Impact (2000) 100.00 Lack of Resilience (2007) 50.00 Local Events (2006-8) 0.00 Socio-economic Fragility (2007) Risk Management Index (2008) Exposure & Physical Susceptibility (2007) LCR 17 Average Costa Rica b UN (2009). http://www.preventionweb.net/english/countries/statistics/?cid=41. Source data from EM-DAT. Data displayed does not imply national endorsement. c Relative Vulnerability and risk Indicators are adapted from IADB-IdeA-ern (2009). Values are normalized on scale of 0 – 100 and presented against the average for 17 LCR countries. Major disaster Impact taken from disaster deficit Index: the ratio of economic losses which a country could suffer during a Maximum Considered event and its economic resilience. Local events taken from Local disaster Index: the propensity of a country to experience recurrent, small-scale disasters and their cumulative impact on local development. risk Management Index is presented as the negative (i.e. 0 = optimal, 100 = incipient) of IADB’s risk Management Index: measures a country’s risk management capability in (i) risk identification, (ii) risk reduction, (iii) disaster management, and (iv) financial protection. resilience, Fragility and exposure are taken from the component indices of Prevalent Vulnerability Index. Date for local event data depends on information available for each country. Data, and the respective LCR 17 average, from 2000 is used for Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Jamaica and Nicaragua. Data, and the respective LCR 17 average, from 2006-08 is used for Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama and Peru. All LCR 17 averages are calculated based on available data. 3
Disaster Risk Management in Central America: GFDRR Country Notes disaster risk profile Costa Rica has the 8th highest economic risk exposure to three or more hazards, according to the Natural Disaster Hotspot study 1 by the World Bank. This study also ranks Costa Rica as second among countries most exposed to multiple hazards based on land area, with 36.8% of the total area exposed to three or more natural hazards. The study estimates that 77.9% of Costa Rica’s population and 80.1% of the country’s GDP reside in areas exposed to high risk from multiple hazards. Geological Hazards Due to its geographic location and geotectonic characteristics, Costa Rica is exposed to a variety of natural hazards, including hydrometeorological and geophysical hazards. The country has recently experienced floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, and landslides. Costa Rica has been identified as one of the most earthquake-prone and volcanically active countries in the world. The country is located on the subduction zone of the Caribbean and Cocos tectonic plates, and the fracturing movements of these two plates have caused frequent earthquakes. In January 2009, an earthquake reaching 6.2 on the Richter scale, killed 22 people and caused more than US$150 million in losses from damage to infrastructure and the agro-industry (public infrastructure was particularly affected by this event, with damages to eight bridges and several roads. Total insured losses are estimated at US$72 million, most of them caused by damage to several hydroelectric plants). The country also has three mountain ranges that span the entire country—with 16 peaks of known volcanic origin and 9 active volcanoes. Five active volcanoes in Costa Rica have caused significant damage and economic losses in the past. 1 Dilley et al. (2005). Table 7.2. Floods and Landslides The frequency of floods has been increasing in Costa Rica and this natural hazard currently represents the main source of losses in the country. During February 2009, heavy rains affected the Pacific Coast and the Central Valley of Costa Rica, causing floods and landslides in at least 65 of the country’s 81 counties, with 18 deaths reported. There was serious damage reported to at least 27 major roads, including cutoffs on the Pan-American Highway. At least 2,000 homes were flooded in the northern province of Guanacaste, which forced 1,500 people into temporary shelter. Tropical Storm Tomas hit Costa Rica in late 2010, leaving 26 dead and causing an economic impact estimated at US$280 million. In October 2011, Tropical Depression 12E affected the entire Central American region. In Costa Rica, the storm caused widespread flooding, landslides, damaged transport infrastructure, and destroyed agricultural lands. Triggered by intense rainfall, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions, landslides and torrential debris flows are among the most costly in terms of human lives. During the heavy rains in October 2007, a total of 14 people died in a landslide in the city of Atenas. After the January 2009 earthquake, at least 10 people died in another landslide in Cinchona, a rural community 50 miles west of the capital city, San José. Hurricanes Costa Rica is also exposed to a hurricane hazard on its Caribbean coast. Hurricane Mitch, one of the most destructive events in Central America, caused economic losses amounting to approximately US$98 million. 4
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Page 3 and 4: This volume is a product of the sta
Page 6 and 7: ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This publication wa
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NICARAGUA COUNTRIES AT HIGH ECONOMI
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PANAMA COUNTRIES MOST EXPOSED TO MU
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Global Facility for Disaster Reduct
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