DISASTER MITIGATION AND VULNERABILITY REDUCTION: AN OUTSIDER'S VIEW*

On 24 October 1998, Atlantic Tropical Storm Mitch was upgraded to a hurricane that developed into one of the strongest and most damaging storm to ever hit the Caribbean and Central America. At its height on 26 and 27 October, the hurricane had sustained winds of 290+ kph and dumped heavy rains over Central America. Although the winds diminished as Hurricane Mitch travelled inland over Honduras on 30 October, the storm continued to produce torrential rains, reaching rates of more than 100 mm per hour. Catastrophic floods and landslides occurred throughout the region. When it was over, some 9 200 people had died; almost 270 000 homes were lost; 21 325 miles of roads and 335 bridges were destroyed. Immediately after the storm, some two million Central Americans were pushed out of their homes. Agricultural losses were staggering. Mitch’s impact on watersheds, human lives and the economies of the affected countries will be felt for at least eight to ten years, assuming that another storm of such magnitude does not return. International experts in disaster mitigation and vulnerability reduction rushed to Central America to assist in diagnosing what had happened and what needed to be done. Perhaps, not surprisingly, the majority of their recommendations consisted of things which natural resource and civil engineering professionals have been recommending on a daily basis as being good practice, many being things for which vetiver grass technology is very well suited. Disasters like Hurricane Mitch do not tell us much that is new. But they do focus our minds on what we should be paying attention to in carrying out our professional responsibilities. This paper attempts to pass on some of the lessons learned by one natural resource professional, particularly on where and how vetiver grass technology should play a role in disaster mitigation and vulnerability reduction, as both a bystander and participant in the post-Mitch emergency and reconstruction efforts