The loss of life and devastation to property from the torrential rains, floods and landslides was enormous. Effects of the natural disaster were intensified by man-made factors. Large-scale deforestation and cultivation of marginal land induced by population pressure triggered massive mudslides. Flooding was exacerbated by lack of adequate watershed management. The rural poor, with limited access to land, often live in marginal high-risk areas, and thus bore the brunt of the effects of the disaster.