Geneva – The head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), Margareta Wahlström, today said that urban areas must invest more in reducing the risk from flash floods such as those which have claimed hundreds of lives in Guatemala, South Carolina in the US and the south of France in recent days.
Ms. Wahlström said: “Flash floods, sometimes accompanied by landslides and triggered by unusually intense rainfall, have become a regular feature of the climate in all regions over the last 20 years. The science tells us that we must expect more heavy precipitation in many parts of the world because of climate change and the fact that carbon dioxide is 43% above pre-industrial levels.
Guatemala: Statement made at the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (2013)
- Publication date: 2013
- Author(s):Maldonado, Alejandro
- Source:Guatemala - government
An Official Statement made by Mr Alejandro Maldonado, Secretario Ejecutivo, Coordinadora Nacional para la Reducción de Desastres (CONRED), Guatemala, at the fourth session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, May 2013. https://youtu.be/-4An2F0aEVg
- Publication date: 2013
- Author(s):Maldonado, Alejandro
- Source:Guatemala - government
An Official Statement made by Mr Alejandro Maldonado, Secretario Ejecutivo, Coordinadora Nacional para la Reducción de Desastres (CONRED), Guatemala, at the fourth session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, May 2013. https://youtu.be/-4An2F0aEVg
Nationally Reported Losses 1990 - 2014
All scale disasters without criteria.
Mortality
| Landslide | 35.6% |
References: http://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/46063
http://www.preventionweb.net/english/policies/v.php?id=33321&cid=70
http://www.preventionweb.net/countries/gtm/data/
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ReplyDeleteHi Lupita,
ReplyDeleteRisk of catastrophic losses due to flooding is significant given deforestation and increasing proximity of large populations to coastal areas, river basins, and lakes. It is no wonder that Guatemala is affected by flooding, and therefore Landslides, given climate change in conjunction with its smaller size which is 50% surrounded by water. Thank you so much for your insightful post.