The Mitch+25 Forum, organized by CEPREDENAC (Centro de Coordinación para la Prevención de los Desastres Naturales en América Central), in Honduras from 30 October to 2 November, analysed the progress in early warning systems in Central America since Mitch, historically the most catastrophic hurricane in the region. At the event, WMO and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) led a panel discussion that looked at points of reference to measure the progress: Mitch (1995) and Eta/Iota 2020.
Two senior meteorologists from Honduras and Guatemala, who staffed their National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) during Mitch, a Disaster Risk Management authority of Panama and an expert of the Costa Rican Red Cross formed the panel. They noted that the reduction in deaths and missing persons from 1995 to 2020 was quite remarkable and attributed the change to several factors.
Disaster risk knowledge increased: more information is available on exposure, there is more systematic data gathering and there are more disasters databases such as DESINVENTAR. This change occurred at both the regional and national…
