Managing disaster risk in Mexico

Disaster Risk Management Series. Since 1980, Mexico has suffered from 79 disaster events. Over half of these disasters were weather related, such as hurricanes or flooding. One fourth of them were geology related, that is, volcanic eruptions, landslides, or earthquakes. The rest of them were instigated by humans in the form of industrial accidents, chemical and oil spills, explosions, and structural fires. Mexico was chosen for the first appraisal mission due to its experience with natural disaster losses, and because it is considering significant public policy changes in the realm of insurance regulations. The World Bank established the Disaster Management Facility in July 1999 to provide proactive leadership in coordinating efforts to introduce disaster prevention and mitigation practices in development-related activities. This report synthesizes the findings of a World Bank mission to Mexico on disaster management, mitigation, and financing, which was followed up by a workshop to discuss those findings. The scope of this study is quite broad and examines the following issues: -- Mexico's experience with disasters of all kinds; -- how risk and vulnerability are assessed and can be assessed as a means toward greater mitigation, that is, better planning and construction standards; -- disaster mitigation in practice; -- the specific contribution that the insurance industry can make to disaster mitigation in Mexico, and why this industry is so underutilized at present; and, -- the government's role in risk transfer as a way of enhancing mitigation especially through the operation of its Natural Disaster Fund, FONDEN.