Humanitarian Assistance in Disaster Situations

Natural, as well as complex disasters have become increasingly destructive in Latin America and the Caribbean and other developing regions of the world. In 1985, catastrophic earthquakes struck urban areas of Chile and Mexico, killing more than 10,000 people. In the same year, the Nevado del Ruiz volcano exploded in Colombia, killing 23,000. Hurricanes have taken thousands of lives and devastated infrastructure in the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America. In 1998, one storm—Hurricane Mitch—kil