In this week’s post we are learning about Coastal Hazards in our chosen countries.
El Salvador shares the same collision coasts as the rest of the western hemisphere.
They are covered with mountains and occur on the leading edge of active plate
margins where two plates are colliding. Furthermore, the country is also in
danger of erosion and also from sediment run-off from up-river deforestation. The
city of Jiquilisco and La Libertad were actually battered by large swells that
formed May 8th 2015 from a Hurricane force low pressure system. The coastal
communities that rely on tourism as a way of life were left to salvage what
they could. According to the country’s Civil Protection Department they
evacuated about 1,000 people and 300 and 117 homes and businesses were
destroyed by the high intensity waves.
In response to increasing climate change and the world
wide rise in ocean temperatures. The people of El Salvador are calling on their
officials to not only help recover what was lost but prevent future disasters
like the one above. While, the country does have disaster relief in place such
as the: Civil Protection Department, The Red Cross, FUNDRED and El Salvador’s
Surf Foundation that will help restore the livelihood to these two communities;
they do little in regards of preventing. Some residents are asking political
officials to install buoy readings as well as satellite modelling. In addition,
to an emergency evacuation plan and effective communication between authorities
and community leaders. However, the residents also need to take into
consideration the fact that if they rebuild on the same strip of coast were the
disaster just occurred; it will be just a matter of time until it happens
again. One easy prevention that they can take is to move their homes and
businesses further back from the high tide line and also receive assistance and
education on building sound infrastructures that will protect against the force
of the waves.
Works Cited:
Thanks for this post, Luis. The photo shows so clearly the devastation that hit the coastal communities. Impoverished countries, unfortunately, suffer more damages in lost properties and lives than more economically advanced countries. I hope the residents are able to pressure the government to make some improvements in detection and prevention. But, as you indicate, if people continue to rebuild on the same coastal properties, the disasters will continue to threaten the communities.
ReplyDeleteWow, a massive amount of that community in El Salvador was so affected by the large swells. I agree, if they rebuild in the area it truly is only a matter of time before it happens again considering that the government isn't exactly doing as much as they could in order to prevent these waves and how our global environment is still ever changing. Hopefully they do find a way to sort things out with government officials and are able to take their community further away from the high tide line.
ReplyDeleteYes, the recommendation of retreating sounds good but it seems most managers are reticent to do so...Predictions that rising seas could destroy over a quarter of El Salvador’s coastal areas!! (http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/gallery/2015/dec/12/el-salvador-coastal-communities-climate-change-bola-de-monte-san-francisco-menendez-in-pictures). A tough picture for the future...
ReplyDeleteNice blog. it is sad but true that the more underdeveloped countries experience the greatest loss. I am happy that the peoples are pushing their government to do more, however I feel that they do not have the means to do the job correctly and must rely on others for help
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