3.1. Reconstruction in the context of development

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The reconstruction phase is more complex than the rehabilitation phase and requires a planning process that takes many elements into account, including sectoral and development policy. Costs tend to exceed national funding possibilities, particularly in less developed countries, which must seek external financing.

In general terms, the idea of reconstruction is not only to repair infrastructure, but to plan and adopt policies and strategies designed to achieve sustained economic and social development through actions that reduce vulnerability to adverse events, channel resources to works that anticipate the effects of natural phenomena, manage risk, implement preventive measures, and develop systems to provide forecasts and early warning.

These principles have been recognized by PAHO/WHO as early as 1994, as evident in the publication A World Safe from Natural Disasters—The Journey of Latin America and the Caribbean, which stressed that mitigation measures can reduce the physical, social, and economic effects of disasters to manageable levels, thus contributing to long-term development.

Integrated programs that incorporate the management and mitigation of natural hazards into development and investment project planning should also be encouraged. This is a cost-effective, multidisciplinary, and multisectoral approach that benefits the poorest and most vulnerable populations and encourages development assistance agencies to consider:

  • Incorporating natural hazard considerations in the initial stages of integrated development planning and investment project development.
  • Placing more importance on risk reduction when evaluating investment projects.

In its December 2010 bulletin, ECLAC Economic and Social Disaster Assessment Unit underlined the cumulative impact of disasters in Latin America and the Caribbean over the last four decades. Emergency expenditures alone represented US$2.7511 billion and total cost was US$356.6724 billion.

Cumulative impact of disasters in Latin America and the Caribbean by type of disaster and sectors affected

CUMULATIVE IMPACT OF DISASTERS IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN BY TYPE OF DISASTER AND SECTORS AFFECTED (1970-2009)
Sectors (millions of 2008 dollars)
Economic
Social
Infrastructure
Environment
Other
Rubble removal, cleaning
Emergency expenditures
Total
Climatological
137,064.7

22,829.8

49,361.2

1,582.4

1,916.1

649.0

1,460.5

214,863.8

Geophysical
34,363.8

59,551.6

33,899.9

257.2

2,526.1

2,587.4

1,289.7

134,475.8

Geophysical-climatological
3,105.6

1,133.3

2,996.2

44.6

52.3

0.0

0.9

7,332.8

TOTAL

174,534.1

83,514.8

86,257.3

1,884.2

4,494.5

3,236.4

2,751.1

356,672.4

Percentage

48.9%

23.4%

24.2%

0.5%

1.3%

0.9%

0.8%

100.0

The same bulletin points out that in 2010 alone, countries in the Americas lost a total of US$9,437.5 million as a result of disasters the Chilean earthquake being the most costly event in the Region, followed by January twelfth earthquake in Haiti.


Greater economic impact by country

Country

Cost Millions of $US

TOTAL
49,188
Chile
30,000
Haiti
7,754
Mexico
5,300
Brazil
1,030
Guatemala
1,553
Colombia
342
Saint Lucia
281

Source: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. Disasters and Development. Estimates based on official preliminary date through December 2010. Available online (in Spanish) http://www.cepal.org/desastres/noticias/noticias/2/42102/Desastres2010_WEB.pdf.

The table below, from the same study, shows the impacts of the most destructive natural disasters from the 1970s to the present, with an economic quantification of the damages.

Deadliest natural disasters since 1970
As a proportion of popualtion

Rank
Country
Year
Description
Killed
Deaths per million inhabitants
Damages (US Millions, 2009)
Damages (% of GDP)
Haiti 2010 Earthquake
150,000 - 250,000
15,000 - 25,000
7,200 - 8,100
104% - 117%
1 Nicaragua 1972 Earthquake
10,000
4,046
4,325
102.0%
2 Guatemala 1976 Earthquake
23,000
3,707
3,725
27.4%
3 Myanmar 2008 Cyclone Nargis
138,366
2,836
4,113
n.a.
4 Honduras 1974 Cyclone Fifi
8,000
2,733
2,263
59.2%
5 Honduras 1998 Cyclone Mitch
14,600
2,506
5,020
81.4%
6 Sri lanka 2004 Tsunami*
35,405
1,839
1,494
7.0%
7 Venezuela 1999 Flood
30,005
1,282
4,072
3.5%
8 Bangladesh 1991 Cyclone Gorki
139,252
1,232
3,038
6.4%
9 Solomon Is 1975 Tsunami
200
1,076
n.a.
n.a.
10 Indonesia 2004 Tsunami*
165,825
775
5,197
2.0%
*Indian Ocean Tsunami caused a total of 226,000 deaths over 12 countries.
n.a. Not available
Source: Author's calculations based on EM-DAT and WDI databases

In a study of the cost of disaster reconstruction in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) states that reconstruction would cost as much as US$14 billion, making the losses sustained in this disaster greater than the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia and the 2008 cyclones in Myanmar.

Considering the close relationship between poverty and disasters, planning for reconstruction should also focus on reducing human vulnerability as an important part of national commitments to achieving the Millennium Development Goals by the end of 2015.