Nevertheless, the statistics in the study represent only the tip of the iceberg, since they are based on data gathered at the request of affected countries. Statistics on hundreds of lesser disasters that take place every year are rarely tabulated. Between 1900 and 1989, the region experienced an average of 10.8 major natural disasters annually. Between 1990 and 1998, the annual average jumped to 35.7. For two days hundreds of delegates from governments, international agencies, and numerous civil society organizations and academic institutions discussed the causes of vulnerability among the countries of the region and identified policies and actions to diminish the impact of natural disasters.
Many disasters are inevitable, but their damage can be reduced significantly.
First, because in developing countries some natural phenomena tend to have greater consequences than in developed countries. Second, diverse factors associated with the low level of development result the amplification of the consequences. Third, because the impact of the natural phenomena on the possibilities of long-range development is substantially greater in less developed countries. The document explores why Latin America and the Caribbean are so vulnerable. One of the innovative elements in the study was its examination of the relationship between democratic government and the reduction of vulnerability.