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absent or malfunctioning in rural poor areas that are at risk (Charveriat 2000). When Hurricane Felix struck Nicaragua and Honduras in 2007 it affected roughly 198,000 people, most of them from indigenous Miskito communities. According to Miskito testimonials, authorities sailed by only a few hours before the storm hit, yelling out warnings. At that time, several lobster fishers were already out at sea with no communication devices.8 In general, countries in the region have less access to information and communications than developed countries, ranging from Barbados (24th rank) to Haiti (159th) (World Bank 2000/2001). Because of the great inequality and the nature of the goods involved, a very unequal distribution of access to information and communications can be expected among income groups, with the poor having little access. Even if low-income groups had access to information, they might not engage in risk reduction. Resettlement, retrofitting of housing, or insurance coverage might appear too costly to them. Because most of their income is allocated to immediate survival, the low frequency risk of a catastrophic natural disaster might not warrant a change in behavior. Furthermore, as noted above, low-income households are less likely to be able to cope with the effects of a disaster, causing their further impoverishment and feeding future vulnerability. Vicious circles might therefore develop in particularly hazard-prone areas affected by recurrent disasters, such as the coastal areas of northeast Brazil, Ecuador, Nicaragua, or Peru. In summary, the poor are usually the most immediately and greatly affected by climate shocks and variability because they lack the assets needed to cope with them. Communication and organization networks are often last to be activated for the poor, leaving them without timely information about how to reduce their risk and protect their assets.
Effects of Natural Disasters on Assets This section addresses the potential impact of weather-related disasters on natural, human, physical, financial, and social assets. Natural assets. Natural assets comprise the natural resource stock from which households derive resources useful to their livelihood. It is beyond the scope of this chapter to analyze the intricate causal relationship between weather-related natural disasters and natural resources per se.9 But box 3.2 illustrates how climate change and variability will compound existing stresses on vital natural assets.