Red Cross: Social Ills Make Disasters Worse in Latin America, Caribbean

High levels of violence and inequality complicate the challenge of managing humanitarian risks in Latin America and the Caribbean, a region that is not investing enough in keeping its people safe, said a top Red Cross official.

As the Caribbean hurricane season approaches, Walter Cotte, Americas director for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said the region was making use of early warning systems and was better positioned to deal with the wrath of huge storms, but still needed to spend more on preparing for natural disasters.