Guatemala is one of the poorest countries in Central America, with 56.7 percent of its population living in poverty. The majority of the rural population lives in fragile and vulnerable conditions as a result of high levels of poverty, unemployment, low standards of living, lack of access to resources, unequal ownership and distribution, environmental degradation and slow economic growth. After 33 years of civil war, a peace accord was finally signed in 1996. The most common disasters that threaten the country are floods, landslides, hurricanes, droughts, bush fires, earthquakes, volcano eruptions, and traffic accidents. In 1976 an earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale took 22,000 lives; most deaths were due to inadequate construction.