Description: Extremely heavy and persistent rains fell across a broad area of the Central Valley and Pacific coast of Costa Rica on 2-3 November 2010. Just south of San José, a mudslide destroyed the small community of Calle Lajas in San Antonio de Escazú, killing 23 people and destroying 25
houses. The losses in Calle Lajas, however, were only the most intensive of those associated with a large number of floods and landslides that affected 50 municipalities and 681 communities in Costa Rica. The disaster damaged or destroyed 2,540 houses, four schools and 85 bridges. Whereas these disasters were characterized as a consequence of unexpectedly heavy rains, in reality they were the outcome of an unseen but continuous accumulation of risk. Costa Rica is ranked 59th out of 184 countries on risk governance capacities, ahead of most low- and middle-income countries. However, many municipalities do not have land use plans informed by risk assessments, and over the years building and urban development have been authorized in many hazard-prone locations. Although Costa Rica has good levels of environmental protection, it is having difficulty managing rapidly increasing hazard exposure from urban development, and ensuring the security of public infrastructure such as roads and bridges. It was anticipated that the 2010 rainy season would be more intense than usual given the presence of La Niña15 in the region. Although a scientific study had already identified the risk of landside in Calle Lajas, local authorities were unable to address this because of a combination of ineffective planning and enforcement mechanisms, responsibilities spread over many different public bodies with unclear accountability, and a resistance to relocation from many of the households at risk.
Published in: 2011 Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction - Revealing Risk, Redefining Development
Copyright © United Nations 2011. All Rights Reserved.
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