Guatemala, which is known officially as the Republic of
Guatemala. It is a country in Central America, that is bordered by Mexico to
the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the
northeast, the Caribbean and Honduras to the east and El Salvador to the
southeast. It has a population of 15.8 million. This beautiful country faces
many natural disasters but I will focus on the major earthquakes and landslides
that have hit this country thus far. These are two of the most dangerous
natural disasters that lead to high mortality rates in this country.
Guatemala
is one of the top 10 countries most affected by climate change and one of the
most vulnerable to natural disasters, according to the global climate risk
index. Many think that climate change has no effect on natural disasters our
mother earth faces every day. However, climate change will shake the earth and
not only cause floods, droughts and heatwaves but it also causes volcanoes to erupt
and catastrophic earthquakes many countries face today.
Guatemala
faces many earthquakes given how prone it is to climate change. So far, this
country has been hit by 25 notable earthquakes. Another reason why it is so
prone to earthquakes is because it lies in a major fault zone known has the
Motagua & Chixoy-Polochic fault complex. One of the most terrifying
earthquakes that hit this country happened in 1976. It had a magnitude of 7.5
and a hypocenter depth of just 5 km. It caused nearly 23,000 fatalities, and
leaving 76,000 injured and caused millions of dollars in damages.
Because
of how susceptible Guatemala is to earthquakes I would recommend that we focus
on areas that are close to fault zones and make them sturdier and invest in
better technology to be able to notify our people sooner of an earthquake. I would build my house far away from fault
zones and tectonic plates. Somewhere in the middle of the country with
beautiful scenery and low crime rate.
Another
disaster that Guatemala is very prone to are landslides. Landslides account for
nearly 35.6% of the mortality rates. Because of heavy rainfall that frequently
sweep through, sending out flashflood warnings make the land soft to where it
can easily cover small towns. Just recently in 2015, a landslide left about 220
people dead, and 350 people still missing.
I would
recommend people to take flashflood warnings more serious, and help notify when
heavy rainfall is approaching. The city of Santa Catarina Pinula is according
to the national disaster risk reduction coordination office has been at elevated
risk since 2008. I would focus on that area and surrounding areas. Trying to
make houses more resistant against landslides and can notify citizens quicker.
I would want to live in an area that doesn’t get much rainfall or that is surrounded
by mountains. I would want to build my house in the middle of this gorgeous
country.
References: http://www.preventionweb.net/countries/gtm/data/
http://www.worldbank.org/en/results/2013/10/08/promoting-proactive-disaster-risk-management-in-Guatemala
https://www.decodedscience.org/m7-4-earthquake-guatemala-november-7-2012/19953
http://www.ticotimes.net/2013/08/13/guatemala-adapting-to-climate-change
http://reliefweb.int/disaster/ls-2015-000138-gtm
