Due to Mexico's diverse geography, the country is exposed to a wide variety of natural hazards, including hurricanes, earthquakes, droughts, volcanoes and more. With 9,330km (5797 miles) of coastline, Mexico is very vulnerable to hurricanes along the Pacific coast, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean coast. Other damaging effects resulting from the heavy rains include flooding and landslides also threaten many areas. Although none has been recorded, these exposed coastlines along the Pacific Ocean are also susceptible to the potential effects from tsunamis. In 2005, Hurricane Wilma struck the southern Yucatan peninsula and caused massive destruction affecting nearly 2 million people.

In addition to weather related threats, earthquakes represent one of the most damaging natural threats that Mexico faces while the country sits above four tectonic plates. Central and southern Mexico are highly susceptible to seismic activity due to Mexico's location along the "fire belt, where 80% of the world's seismic and volcanic activity occurs. While Mexico City is the second largest city in the world, with nearly one fifth of the country's population, and is located within a mountain valley above tectonic plates the city is extremely vulnerable to earthquakes. However, according to the World Bank, the most active seismic region is the Guerrero coast, which is believed to be long overdue for a massive seismic event.¹

The most recent devastating earthquake struck Mexico City in 1985 which caused 9,500 fatalities, affected more than 2 million people and caused more than 4 million dollars in damages.² Meanwhile, northern Mexico is particularly susceptible to droughts and extreme temperatures. Moreover, the country is also susceptible to volcanic activity with dozens of active volcanoes and at least 14 of which have erupted in recent history. The most recent catastrophic volcanic eruption occurred in 1982 from the El Chichon volcano in Chiapas which completely destroyed eight communities and caused 2,000 fatalities.