Latin America, Caribbean Achieves Capability in Using Nuclear Techniques to Respond to Natural Disasters
It is the second-most-disaster-prone region in the world. Latin America and the Caribbean is vulnerable to natural events like earthquakes, floods and hurricanes owing to its unique tectonic structure and weather patterns. With climate change further exacerbating the impact of these vulnerabilities, the region urgently needed capacity to assess the safety and integrity of built structures following natural disasters, particularly in urban areas. With the IAEA’s help, the region has achieved self-reliance in these capacities.
Four response centres, able to evaluate the integrity of civil structures like roads and bridges in their own and neighbouring countries using nuclear non-destructive testing (NDT) techniques, have been established in Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Peru, with IAEA assis...