Caribbean Disaster
Mitigation Project
Implemented by the Organization of American States
Unit of Sustainable Development and Environment
for the USAID Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance and the Caribbean Regional Program
Caribbean Disaster
Mitigation Project |
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Bulletin Date: December 1999
During the week of 7–10 July 1997, the USAID/OAS Caribbean Disaster Mitigation Project (CDMP) and the UNDP/CDERA Disaster Emergency Response and Management System (DERMS) hosted a workshopin St. Lucia on Hazard Mitigation Planning. National disaster coordinators and national development planners from 15 Caribbean countries and dependent territories attended the workshop. This workshop was organized as a collaborative project between the CDMP and DERMS, with two primary goals:
Topics covered in the workshop included hazard identification; analysis of hazard probability, vulnerability and capability to respond; development of goals, objectives, policies, programs and benchmarks; and plan revision. Participants divided into smaller groups to prepare hazard mitigation plans, based on the mitigation planning process presented. The final plans were presented on the last day of the workshop. At the end of the workshop, a resolution was adopted promoting mitigation planning activities throughout the Caribbean.
Hazard mitigation planning materials were specially developed for use at the workshop. These materials should also provide support for hazard mitigation planning activities subsequent to the workshop. Materials developed include a planning manual, worksheets for use during the planning process, development planning tools and techniques, a list of past disasters in the Caribbean caused by natural hazards, references for mitigation planning and a self-appraisal checklist. These materials are available from the papers and publications section of the CDMP web site. A description of mitigation planning--including the methodology and materials presented at the St. Lucia workshop--is available on the CDMP Hazard Mitigation Planning Resources page.
Participants deemed the workshop a success. The link between development planning and disaster response and management was critical for participants. The importance of the link between these two disciplines was recognized within the region at the spring 1997 regional meeting of Ministers of Settlements and Housing and in their regional action plan. Workshop participants underscored the need for support at these higher levels for hazard mitigation activities. To ensure that hazard mitigation planning continues in the region, further support should be provided for hazard and vulnerability assessment and for future workshops on hazard mitigation across these and other disciplines. A follow-up workshop on Hazard Mapping and Vulnerability Assessment took place in Grenada in March 1999.
Funding for this workshop—including material development and workshop and participant costs—was provided by USAID through the Caribbean Disaster Mitigation Project. CDMP contracted with the principal consultant, who developed the materials and delivered the workshop program. CDERA/DERMS convened the technical working group for this project, funded a regional consultant to assist with material development and preparation of case studies, coordinated workshop logistics and participant travel, and provided logistical and secretarial support over the course of the workshop.
Subsequent to the St. Lucia workshop, the national disaster coordinators in St. Lucia and Jamaica approached the CDMP for support for national hazard mitigation activities. In St. Lucia, CDMP supported a national consultation on a draft national hazard mitigation plan. In Jamaica, CDMP has helped support local and external consultants who have assisted with the structuring, coordination and writing of a national hazard mitigation policy and plan. The draft Jamaican plan was completed in the fall of 1999.
No comprehensive picture of disaster mitigation and management activities in the Caribbean currently exists. Lack of information about the current state of disaster mitigation knowledge and practice hinders regional disaster management training and coordination efforts. A survey of current hazard and emergency response activities was distributed in the spring of 1997 by CDERA/DERMS to national disaster coordinators throughout the Caribbean. This survey of national and international agencies active in disaster mitigation should fill this information gap and guide future training, coordination and assistance programs. Additionally, as part of the DERMS project, in-depth case studies of hazard mitigation planning will be conducted in Barbados, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis and the British Virgin Islands. These case studies will include a profile of the country, the prevalent hazards and hazard mitigation options, including one that is presently being applied.
The CDMP is currently investigating other means of support for hazard mitigation planning in the region. Workshop participants identified the need for examples of various types of hazard assessments and risk analysis. Current CDMP activities in Jamaica, Belize and Haiti provide a range of examples of hazard and risk assessment case studies. In Jamaica, the Kingston Multi-hazard Assessment includes assessments of seismic, landslide and coastal storm hazards, the results of which will be compiled into a composite multi-hazard assessment. In Belize, the CDMP has completed a coastal flooding assessment; work on an inland river flood model will be complete in early 1999. In Haiti, the CDMP is supporting a hazards inventory for use by the local disaster committee in Jacmel. CDMP has also produced maps of the Caribbean showing seismic iso-acceleration zones and return periods for tropical storm-related hazards (storm surge, waves and wind).
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