Disaster management cooperation in central america: the case of rainfall‐induced natural disasters

Abstract

Rainfall‐induced natural disasters rank first among all natural disasters in entral merica. Due to the geographical conditions of the entral merican region, it is common that two or more countries are struck by the same rainfall event, for example urricane itch in 1998 affected the entire entral merican region, killing more than 18-000 people. As a consequence, entral merican countries have started to promote regional policies and programs that aim for better preparation and response to these events, including disaster management cooperation. However, cooperation poses several challenges that may hinder its goals. In order to analyse these challenges, we present analysis in this paper of the current policy and legal institutions as well as the main challenges that may hinder international disaster management cooperation in Central America.