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Risk Mapping Guatemala Sector Disaster Risk Reduction & Emergency Aid

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Risk Mapping Guatemala Sector Disaster Risk Reduction & Emergency Aid Risk Mapping Guatemala Sector Disaster Risk Reduction & Emergency Aid January 2012 Evelien Thieme Groen & Carolien Jacobs Table of Contents Fast Facts 3 HAZARDS 3 Natural Hazards 3 Hurricanes 3 Floods 3 Earthquakes 3 Drought 3 Landslides and mudslides 4 Volcanoes 4 Environmental hazards 4 Deforestation and water 4 Extractives 5 Epidemics 5 Man-made hazard 5 Conflict hazard 5 VULNERABILITY 6 Indicators 6 CAPACITY 6 Government 6 Civil Society 7 International Coordination 7 Cordaid & Partners 7 SYNTHESIS 7 Resources & Contact Persons 8 Appendix: hazard map Guatemala 2 Republic of Guatemala Fast Facts 1 Capital: Guatemala City Official languages: Spanish (official), Population: 13,8 million Amerindian Population Density: 129/sq. km Climate: tropical on coast, cool in uplands Administrative regions: 22 departments Pop. Affected by natural disasters Major ethnic groups: Mestizo and white 59.4%, (average/year/mln people): 26 888 Mayan 40.3% World Risk Index: 5 (173) Major religion: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Cordaid sectors: CT, DRR indigenous beliefs Hazards Natural Hazards Hurricanes The country is susceptible to tropical storms. These storms are the most life affecting hazard in Guatemala. They occur less often than floods but the impact is very large. They affect a high number of people and also take many lives. Furthermore, they leave behind a lot of economic damage, more so generally than earthquakes have done in the past. A Storm in 2005 affected a near half a million people and killed over one and a half thousand people, the economic damages where calculated as the highest of all recent disasters. 2 Most tropical storms occur in the east of Guatemala, in the Gulf of Honduras. 3 Floods Floods are a regularly returning phenomenon in Guatemala. Many people die as a result of floods and they affect thousands more. The latest flood was in 2008 and affected almost 200 thousand people. 4 Flood risk is highest in the low lying areas of the country and coastal areas in the south, as well as along rivers. 5 Earthquakes The country experiences the occasional violent earthquake. It is situated in a major fault zone known as the Motagua and Chixoy-Polochic fault complex. The people of Guatemala are incredibly exposed to earthquakes. Almost 20% of the population is present in earthquake hazardous zones subject to losses. That equals more than 2,5 million people. The amount of GDP modelled to be present in these zones is more than 20%. Although earthquakes occur relatively often, about as much as volcano eruptions, the impact is limited. Generally the number of people killed and affected by the disaster is much lower than other hazards. 6 Earthquakes occur more in the southern areas of Guatemala and a high number of people are exposed here. 7 Drought While droughts do not occur very often in Guatemala compared to other natural hazards, they do affect a large number of people when they do occur. 8 A drought in 2009 resulted in food shortages and affected 1 CIA Factbook (2011). Guatemala. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gt.html#top viewed on 04.11.2011. 2 PreventionWeb (2011). Guatemala. http://www.preventionweb.net/english/countries/statistics/risk.php?cid=70 viewed on 04.11.2011. 3 Global Risk Data Platform (2011) Guatemala. http://preview.grid.unep.ch/index.php?preview=map&iso=GTM viewed on 04.11.2011. 4 PreventionWeb (2011). Guatemala. http://www.preventionweb.net/english/countries/statistics/risk.php?cid=70 viewed on 04.11.2011. 5 Global Risk Data Platform (2011) Guatemala. http://preview.grid.unep.ch/index.php?preview=map&iso=GTM viewed on 04.11.2011. 6 PreventionWeb (2011). Guatemala. http://www.preventionweb.net/english/countries/statistics/risk.php?cid=70 viewed on 04.11.2011. 7 Global Risk Data Platform (2011) Guatemala. http://preview.grid.unep.ch/index.php?preview=map&iso=GTM viewed on 04.11.2011. 8 PreventionWeb (2011). Guatemala. http://www.preventionweb.net/english/countries/statistics/risk.php?cid=70 viewed on 04.11.2011. 3 around 2,5 million people in the country in 21 departments. 9 The so called ‘Corredor Seco’ is a drought prone location in the east of the country. Landslides and mudslides In Guatemala land and mudslides are common, yet mudslides occur more often. 10 Mudslides can affect many people and especially leave a lot of economic damage as whole hillside villages are swept away. In the southern mountain ranges of Sierra de los Cuchimatanes and Sierra Madre (which includes the provinces of Guatemala City and other densely populated areas) landslide hazard is the highest. Human exposure is also very high here. 11 Volcanoes Guatemala had numerous volcanoes in the Sierra Madre mountain range; these volcanoes are also significantly active. The Santa Maria (Quetzaltenango) has been deemed a ‘Decade Volcano’ due to its explosive history and its close proximity to human settlements. The Pacaya (Escuintla) is one of the most active volcanoes in the country which erupted in May 2010 causing serious ash fall on the capital. The volcano has frequently erupted since 1965. Other active volcanoes are Acatenango (Guatemala), Amolonga (Quetzaltenango), Atitlan (Solola), Fuego (Sacatepequez), Tacana (San Marcos) and Tajumulco (San Marcos). 12 Most active volcanoes are in the south of the country; this is also a very densely populated area. Environmental hazards Deforestation and water Guatemala has issues of deforestation everywhere, especially in the Peten rainforest located in the north- most and largest department of Guatemala. Between 1990 and 2005, Guatemala lost 17 percent of its total forest cover. Deforestation rates have increased by nearly 13 percent since then. Most forest loss in Guatemala is due to the growth of the population who are in need of agricultural land and fuel wood resulting in illegal timber harvesting and land clearing for agriculture, in national parks. Fires set for land clearing in nearby fields often spread into protected forest areas. Gold mining, road construction, and land clearing for cattle pasture are also considered important factors. Guatemala also experiences soil erosion which can, in combination with deforestation, worsen the occurrence of landslides in the country. The water situation in Guatemala is alarming. Compared to established biological and chemical standards, every water body in Guatemala is considered to be moderately if not critically contaminated from variety of sources. Wastewater is not or inadequately treated. In Guatemala City, untreated storm water used re-charge the water supply of the city. Leaching from the landfill in Guatemala City has also severely contaminated the local aquifers. Sewage from the capital has caused the Villalobos and Las Vacas Rivers to be considered the most contaminated streams in the country. Additionally, contamination due to the improper disposal of human or animal wastes is a problem in many populated and rural areas of the country. In agricultural areas, pesticides are a primary source of contamination. Chemical contamination results from the use of fertilizers and pesticides in the sugarcane and banana plantations of the Pacific 13 and Caribbean coastal plains. 9 UN News Centre (2009) Worst drought in Guatemala in decades affecting 2.5 million people, UN reports. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=32109 viewed on 04.11.2011. 10 PreventionWeb (2011). Guatemala. http://www.preventionweb.net/english/countries/statistics/risk.php?cid=70 viewed on 04.11.2011. 11 Global Risl Data Platform (2011) Guatemala. http://preview.grid.unep.ch/index.php?preview=map&iso=GTM viewed on 04.11.2011. 12 CIA Factbook (2011). Guatemala. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gt.html#top viewed on 04.11.2011. 13 Wikipedia (2011). Water resources management in Guatemala. Water quality. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_resources_management_in_Guatemala viewed on 21.12.2011. 4 Extractives The geography of Guatemala favours the formation of various types of mineral deposits, including gold, silver, copper, cadmium, antimony, nickel, lead, zinc, limestone, barite, bentonite, sulphur and marble. Despite this potential, the mining industry has been somewhat challenged due to the civil war. 14 Guatemala sees a recent trend of expanding mining. These activities can have a major impact on the environment, especially water bodies. They also touch on land rights of indigenous people. 15 Epidemics Epidemics have occurred quite often in Guatemala, almost as much as landslides. Epidemics have had a very high rate of taking peoples lives. The latest one happened in the early 90s where hundreds of people came to be infected by Cholera and died. Man-made hazard Guatemala has seen the appearance of several sinkholes and/or piping failures, where large areas seem to disappear into deep holes in the earth’s surface. The main causes are the erosion of solid bedrock by groundwater or, what is more often the case in Guatemala City, the erosion and collapse of the bedrock of volcanic ash by water leaking out of un-maintained sewage pipes. In May 2010 a piping feature swallowed up an apartment building and a house, it killed three people and left a massive whole in the city the size of an intersection and about 60 metres deep. Conflict hazard Guatemala emerged from a 36 year civil war in 1996 in which the leftist, mostly Mayan insurgents fought against the US backed army who waged a campaign to eliminate the guerrilla forces. Over 200 thousand people were killed or disappeared during this civil war, most of them civilians. 16 Inequality is still a problem in the country, poverty is especially apparent in amongst the indigenous people and the rural areas. Like its neighbouring countries, it is plagued by organised crime and violent gangs. It is also a major drugs corridor from South America to the USA. 17 There is an old territorial dispute between Belize and Guatemala.
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