El Salvador - GFDRR

86 | El Salvador: Damage, Loss, and Needs Assesment
economic effect is included in the estimated losses in the productive and social sectors. It is therefore not
appropriate to attribute the costs incurred by such suppressed traffic to the transportation sector because
this would mean doubling the figures. Losses due to immobilized capital are also not included, because
there was no information on vehicles trapped for a considerable period of time during or after the natural
phenomenon under study.
Finally, the effectiveness and timeliness of the participation of government personnel from different
agencies should be highlighted; in practice, their assistance translated into a significant decrease in costs
and losses. This same constructive, dedicated attitude was repeated in the participation of personnel in
said ad hoc working group.
d) Estimate of Needs for Rehabilitation and Reconstruction
For quite a long time it has been well known that El Salvador’s road system is vulnerable to various severe
phenomena of geological and hydrological origin, as in the previously mentioned cases of Hurricanes
Mitch and Stan, which occur frequently, and of the devastating earthquakes in recent history.
As a result of these natural phenomena, two types of severe damage generally occur: landslides and
structural collapse.
Fortunately, El Salvador’s road system was and continues to be well designed, constructed and maintained,
and thus damages are less than what might be expected.
However, both of the abovementioned weaknesses prevail, and thus it is necessary to address them in
order to overcome them once and for all. In this regard, it should be remembered that in previous assessments
conducted by CEPAL it was noted that the amounts of losses caused by phenomena such as those
described exceed the investment needed to reconstruct these collapsed structures. The appropriateness of
allocating the necessary resources is therefore clear, for the purpose of preventing damages and losses in
future events similar to those already studied.
The needs detected under the scenario of reducing vulnerabilities and managing risks are significantly
higher than the sum of all damages and losses. Under the assumption that these are very likely to occur,
the investment differentials will later be compensated by avoiding similar costs and losses.
Table 31 indicates the identified investment needs.