Preventive Resettlement of Populations at Risk of Disaster - GFDRR

worst threat, followed by tropical storms and hurricanes,
although volcanic eruptions may also cause severe
damage. However, the most frequent and specific
phenomena are floods and landslides (Inter–American
Development Bank, IDB; National University of Colombia
- Universidad Nacional de Colombia, 2004) that
cause continuous impacts at local level. Although these
events are not widely perceived as major disasters, they
have significant cumulative impacts.
As the study of natural disasters and at-risk zones revealed
(UNEPAR, SIDA, UNICEF, 2001), the risk posed
by these hazards is exacerbated by the high levels of poverty,
human settlements in at-risk zones, deforestation,
lack of appropriate infrastructure, lack of land management
norms and construction codes, and institutional
constraints.
stemming from the Peace Accords poses a series of
major challenges for risk management and disaster
response, especially when they involve inter-cultural
dialogue and negotiations.
2. Hazards, Vulnerability
and Risks
Guatemala’s geographical location in the Central American
Isthmus, between two oceans, places it in an intertropical
convergence zone prone to hydro-meteorological
extremes, such as hurricanes, heavy rainfall and
storms that in turn cause floods and landslides (Rafael
Landívar University, 2005). That situation is exacerbated
by exposure to the El Niño phenomenon, which has
a major impact on the pattern of rainfall and droughts.
Guatemala is also located over three tectonic plates
whose interaction and shifts produce frequent earthquakes.
Also, the volcanic belt stretching across the
country from west to east contains 37 volcanoes, 11 of
which are classified as active; three have erupted in the
past 10 years (Rafael Landívar University, 2005; Otto H.
Bohnenberger, 1969).
Thus, the principal hazards are geological (earthquakes,
volcanic eruptions, land collapses, sinkholes, seaquakes
and landslides) and hydrometeorological (hurricanes,
floods, drought and hailstorms). Earthquakes pose the
3. Socio-natural Disasters
Research by the Implementing Management Unit of the
Rural Water Supply Programme (Unidad Ejecutora del
Programa de Acueductos Rurales, UNEPAR), Swedish International
Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA),
and UNICEF (2001) on disasters from 1530-1999, revealed
21,447 events, 68 percent of which were of hydrometeorological
origin and 32 percent geo-dynamic.
A World Bank study on risk management for priority
countries (2009), shows that from 1902-2005, Guatemala
experienced 62 natural disasters that affected approximately
six million people. The same study ranked
Guatemala fifth among countries with the highest economic
risk exposure to multiple hazards, given that 83
percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) is generated
in at-risk areas.
A 2005 study of hazards and social vulnerability (Rafael
Landívar University, 2005) found 1,733 settlements with
approximately 210,000 inhabitants who are exposed to
floods. It also estimated that 7 percent of the national
territory has a more than 50 percent likelihood of experiencing
freezing temperatures affecting 16,500 people,
while 5 percent, with a population of 485,000, face a
very high or extreme risk of drought.
The same 2005 study found 641 settlements near the
Great Faults, with 84,000 people, who could be affected
86 Preventive Resettlement of Populations at Risk of Disaster: Experiences from Latin America