Twenty Years after the Storm: Hurricane Vulnerability in Bluefields, Nicaragua
Keywords:
hurricanes, risk, developing countries, vulnerability, NicaraguaAbstract
Devastating outcomes of natural disasters in Latin America and the Caribbean are increasing, largely as a result of the increasing vulnerability of local populations. Twenty years after a Category 4 hurricane destroyed the remote coastal city of Bluefields, Nicaragua in 1988, this case study research examines how present conditions have reshaped its vulnerability to a future storm. Using the Pressure and Release (PAR) model as a framework (Wisner, Blaikie, Cannon & Davis, 2004), this study draws on interviews with the city's Creole leaders to identify and examine the root causes of vulnerability for the people of Bluefields. A long history of political isolation and distrust in the national government, combined with policy changes that resulted in increased migration and urbanization have culminated in increased vulnerability to hurricanes. The most at-risk populations are not the longtime Creole residents but rather more recent migrants to Bluefields who are living in improvised housing in the city's floodplain.
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