Information on disaster risk management: case study of five countries
This report contains the general conclusions of a project on disaster risk information conducted by IDB and ECLAC in Colombia, Chile, Jamaica, Mexico and Nicaragua. It sheds light on the institutional structures and disaster risk management that exist in the countries studied. By providing a chronological account of the evolution of institutions responsible for emergency and civil defence processes and for risk management as part of planning and development policies the study constitutes a valuable record of national experiences and explains how the countries studied have made changes in recent decades to the institutions in charge of disaster and risk management as well as their information systems. Based on the experiences that have been documented regarding the responses to disasters, some conclusions are drawn that have region-wide implications and recommendations directed at decision makers are formulated.