In addition to these major disastrous there were dozens of minor ones.
Question 18: Identify the key factors causing economic, social, educational
and environmental vulnerability of the surveyed communities.
The fact that Costa Rica has a negative growth in GNP per capita, a large national debt and 28 percent of the population is living in poverty all are key factors causing economic vulnerability. In addition, 54 percent of families have an income level, which only quotes to the national ‘minimum’ wage of $145 per month. Of that, 33 percent is spent on food. The nature of the houses also adds to the vulnerability. Most housing is in a poor condition and not protected from disasters. Only 37 percent of the homes are elevated and only 1 percent of the homes are built to any seismic specification. Costa Rica is a very poor country and the economic state of the country makes it very vulnerable to natural disasters. In Costa Rica, the local organisations try to ease the impacts of disasters by preparing the people. But in the surveyed areas this was not the case because of class arrangement and hazard awareness. Every one has a different way perceiving a natural disaster. 27 percent of the surveyed people believed that hazards were just a product of nature, 11 percent believed that a disaster is a punishment or the will of God and 24 percent did not know the cause. When asked who could stop or slow down natural disasters, the people believed that it was out of their control. Most of the people regard income, employment and other problems more important. Education would be a good way to reduce vulnerability, but there are hardly any emergency preparedness programmes. “Hazard Zoning” is a system that is used to pinpoint hazardous areas and reduce the inhabitation of the area, consequently lowering vulnerability. In spite of this Parrita is sited on a high risk zone, and still people inhabit the area, and the area is supplied with water and electricity by the state. A early warning system would be an effective way to warn the public of floods, hurricanes ect. To be successful they have to be responded to and due to the lack of economic resources, this would be complicated to manage. The changes in the environment, caused by poor land management and deforestation, can increase flooding, landslides, and avalanches. Costa Rica is very defenceless to natural hazards, this is mainly due to the Economic, Social, Educational, Informational and Environmental vulnerable state of the country.
Question 19: Explain why it will be difficult to reduce the vulnerability of the
people in Costa Rica.
It will be extremely difficult to reduce the vulnerability of ht people of Costa Rica. This is because, it is not just the people that are vulnerable, the whole country is vulnerable, the Economic, Social, Educational, Informational and Environmental state, all lead to the vulnerability of the people. For the people at less risk, the Economic, Social, Educational, Informational and Environmental state must be improved first, to reduce the risk of natural hazards. This is why it is so hard to reduce the vulnerability of the people.
