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 |
|
1998 | 1999
Last updated 20 April 2001
December 14-16, 1998: Hurricane Preparedness Workshop
for the Hotel Industry (St. Lucia)
December 2, 1998: National Roundtable on Safer Housing (Antigua)
December 1-2, 1998: National Storm Hazard Information Workshop
(Antigua)
November 18-20, 1998: CDMP Technical Advisory Committee Meeting
(Jamaica)
October 14-15, 1998: Regional Workshop on Reducing the Vulnerability
of Schools and Shelters to Natural Hazards (St. Kitts)
October 1-2, 1998: Caribbean/Central American Forum on Building Codes
and Economic Development (Puerto Rico)
July 14, 16, 1998: Insurance-driven incentive program for
retrofitting of properties in the Eastern Caribbean (St. Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda)
June 15-18, 1998: CHA/CTO Conference and Hurricane Procedures Manual
(The Bahamas)
May 1998: International Emergency Management Society Conference
(Washington DC)
April 30-May 1, 1998: CDMP Technical Advisory Committee Meeting
(Jamaica)
April 8-10, 1998: National Hurricane Conference (Norfolk VA)
March 4, 1998: Update on Layou River landslide Post-disaster Mission
(Dominica)
February 14, 1998: Landslide Hazard Technical Workshop
(Kingston, Jamaica)
January 15, 1998: Post-disaster Mission, Layou River landslide
(Dominica)
December 8, 1997: TAOS/L Training (Barbados)
The CDMP and the Caribbean Hotel Association co-sponsored a workshop for the hotel industry on hurricane preparedness in St. Lucia, December 14-16. Representatives from St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, Barbados and Puerto Rico participated in the workshop. Material for the workshop was based on the CHA/CTO Hurricane Procedures Manual, which was published in 1998 with the assistance of CDMP. A second such workshop will be held in the spring of 1999. The ‘Structural Vulnerability and Loss Reduction Techniques’ section of the Hurricane Procedures Manual is available on the Papers and Publications section of the CDMP web site.
The National Development Foundation of Antigua & Barbuda hosted, with funding from CDMP, a roundtable discussion on safer home construction in Antigua, December 2, 1998. Approximately 20 people participated, with the great majority from the private sector, including engineers and representatives of the banking and insurance industries. The objectives of the roundtable were to identify the constraints and potential for safer housing in Antigua and to review and critique the contribution of existing structures and organizations towards safer housing. Issues discussed included the national building code, hazard information for planning, enforcement of building standards and training and quality control within the construction industry. A final report on this meeting will be available in 1999.
The Caribbean Meteorological Institute and the CDMP developed a draft atlas of Maximum Envelope of Water (MEOW) maps for the islands of Antigua and Barbuda using the TAOS/L storm hazard model. TAOS/L model runs for various combinations (over 30 total) of storm approaches, strength and forward speed were used to create these maps. The maps were presented at a national Storm Hazard Mapping workshop in Antigua, 1–2 December 1998, with over 20 local participants. In addition to discussing the maps, topics covered at the workshop included: tropical storm forecasting, an overview of the TAOS/L model and the use of storm hazard maps and information in development and emergency management planning. Workshop maps and materials will be finalized in the first quarter of 1999.
The CDMP Technical Advisory Committee met 18–20 November in Negril, Jamaica. The focus of this meeting was planning for the activities for the final year of the CDMP and sustainability of project activities. Decisions and agreements made at this meeting will be incorporated into the 1999 CDMP workplan.
The CDMP and Natural Hazards Project (NHP) of the OAS sponsored a regional workshop in Basseterre, St. Kitts, on October 14-15, 1998. The workshop served as a forum to review the progress that was made following a year-long effort in Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, and St. Kitts & Nevis to examine the vulnerability of schools and shelters to natural hazards. Discussions focused on the results of an engineering study that examined the seismic and hurricane vulnerability of 86 schools and shelters in the above mentioned countries. As a result of this study, a manual describing standards for retrofitting of schools/shelters and construction of new schools/shelters was prepared. Because school maintenance is an important issue in the Eastern Caribbean, a maintenance manual for non-technical personnel was also presented and discussed.
Representatives from the Ministries of Education, Public Works Departments, and the Disaster Preparedness Offices from the five participating countries as well as other OECS countries were in attendance. Representation from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA), Partners of the Americas, and the US Peace Corps also attended. CDB discussed its intent to provide the countries with loan financing to complete the proposed retrofit work. See the CDMP project bulletin describing school/shelter hazard vulnerability reduction and the School/Shelter Hazard Vulnerability Reduction Resource Page for detailed information on this project.
The CDMP was a co-sponsor of the Caribbean/Central American Forum on Building Codes and Economic Development, which was also sponsored by the National Conference of States on Building Codes and Standards (NCS/BCS), the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Government of Puerto Rico, USAID and CDB. More than 140 participants from over 30 countries participated in this form. Interest among the participants was evidently boosted by the passage of hurricane Georges. The need for effective building codes was fully endorsed. The presentations were informative and demonstrated that the issues related to formulation of appropriate codes, enforcement, compliance and public education are common throughout the region. The working sessions offered an opportunity for in-depth discussions and produced suggestions for regional collaboration in the areas of code formulation and adoption; code enforcement, education and training; and disaster-resistant affordable housing. Further information is available on the Hazard-resistant Construction page on the CDMP web site.
The CDMP participated in the launching of an incentive program whereby property owners receive discounts on their premiums after implementing certain prescribed measures that reduce the vulnerability of the property to wind hazard. The program, which was launched in St. Lucia on July 14, and in Antigua and Barbuda on July 16, is being promoted by United Insurance Company Ltd. of Barbados, a regional insurer with operations throughout the Eastern Caribbean. The incentive program was based on the recommendations made by the CDMP for the CARICOM Working Party on Insurance and Reinsurance in 1995.
As part of this initiative, United Insurance is making available to Caribbean property owners a guide to making homes hurricane resistant, and a more technical manual for retrofitting of engineered structures. CDMP agreed to support local training and awareness programs that would familiarize homeowners with practical approaches to retrofitting their homes. Representatives of the building trade associations and the building finance community present at the launch called for the adoption of a national building codes as a mechanism to ensure safer construction and minimize losses from disasters.
In mid-June, the Caribbean Hotel Association and the Caribbean Tourism Organization jointly released the Hurricane Procedures Manual. This manual is intended to be used by hotels throughout the region for hurricane preparedness and response. To strengthen the focus on long term vulnerability reduction, the Caribbean Disaster Mitigation Project (CDMP) supported the development of a chapter on hazard mitigation through improved hotel construction practices for inclusion in this document. In many areas of the Caribbean the hotel and tourism industry is central to economic livelihood but often located in hazard-prone, low-lying areas. By upgrading the tourism building stock, the Caribbean region is better positioned to recover from the social and economic shocks which accompany natural hazard events in the region.
CDMP participated in this conference with the presentation of a paper entitled, Costs and Benefits of Hazard Mitigation for Building and Infrastructure Development: A Case Study in Small Island Developing States. This paper is based on the results of a study of selected public and private buildings, which have failed due to the effects of natural hazards. See the CDMP progress bulletins for further information on this study.
The 1998 CDMP technical advisory committee meeting took place in Kingston, Jamaica, at the end of April. The focus of this meeting was on sustainability and institutionalization of CDMP activities as the project plans for its final year.
CDMP participated in the Caribbean/Island Pacific section of the National Hurricane Conference with the presentation of a paper entitled, Multi-hazard Mapping: From Concept to Practice. This paper used the Kingston (Jamaica) Multi-hazard Assessment as a case study for multi-hazard mapping. See the CDMP progress bulletins for further information on the Kingston Multi-hazard Assessment.
In January, the Caribbean Disaster Mitigation Project (CDMP) sponsored a technical team in Dominica to assist the Government in responding to the risk of flooding in the Layou River valley caused by several landslide dams in an upstream tributary. The team consists of Dr. Cassandra Rogers, a landslide expert from the Univ e rsity of the West Indies (UWI) in Trinidad, Dr. David Lang, a landslide expert resident in Dominica and other local experts. During Dr. Rogers' two-week visit, the team assessed proposed emergency vulnerability reduction measures and developed a detailed plan of action for flood vulnerability assessment and mitigation. CDMP support to the Government of Dominica is being coordinated with the Government's Layou River task force. CDMP is executed by the Organization of American States and funded by the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance of the US Agency for International Development (OFDA/USAID).
Over the past month, the water impoundment behind the landslide dam on the Mathieu River seems to have stabilized. Water that has accumulat ed behind the dam is seeping into the soil and under the dam with no visible deterioration of the dam itself. To assist with continuous monitoring of landslide activity and movement of the landslide dam, the CDMP contracted the UWI Seismic Research Unit t o install a seismometer at foot of slide. The local officials assigned to monitor the dam have been equipped with handheld radios so that sudden movements of dam material or any seismic activity can be detected. A drum seismograph is being installed in the Layou village Police station, with radio link to the seismometer, for additional monitoring of the situation.
A more detailed analysis of the flood hazard posed by a landslide dam break has begun with the digitization of detailed contour information for the lower Layou River. A Geographic Information System (GIS) model is being prepared to serve as a basis for analyzing possible dam failure and lower Layou river flooding scenarios.
On 14 February 1998, the Unit for Disaster Studies of the University of the West Indies, Mona campus, conducted a technical workshop on landslide susceptibility mapping for the Kingston Metropolitan Area (KMA). The landslide hazard assessment is one component of the multi-hazard assessment that is being conducted for the KMA by the USAID/OAS Caribbean Disaster Mitigation Project (CDMP). This workshop represented the culmination of the modeling portion of the KMA landslide assessment.
The KMA landslide susceptibility modeling work was conducted following the 'DeGraff technique' using a geographic information system (GIS). Landscape factors which were included in the GIS analysis included land slope and aspect, surface lithology and distance to know faults. Using this information and a catalog of historical landslides, maps of areas susceptible to deep and shallow landslides were produced. A companion manual, which describes techniques for landslide hazard reduction, is forthcoming. The landslide susceptibility maps and hazard reduction manual will be available to private- and public-sector planners, engineers and developers for use as guides to reducing the landslide hazard risk within the Kingston Metropolitan Area. See the CDMP project bulletin describing the Kingston Multi-hazard Assessment for more information on this activity.
Since Monday January 12, the Caribbean Disaster Mitigation Project (CDMP) has a technical team in Dominica to assist the Government in responding to the risk of flooding in the Layou River valley caused by a landslide dam in an upstream tributary. The team consists in Dr. Cassandra Rogers, a landslide expert from the University of the West Indies (UWI) in Trinidad, Dr. David Lang, a geologist resident in Dominica, and will be joined shortly by Dr. Sam Naranjit, hydrologist and expert in landslide dam analysis from UWI Trinidad. Coordination with Governemnt's Layou Landslide Dam and Flood Events Task Force is supported by Mr. Paul Brown, Director of the OAS Office in Dominica. In a January 13 meeting with the Cabinet of Ministers, it was agreed that the CDMP would assist the Government in the following priority areas: 1) the development of a detailed plan of action for a vulnerability assessment and mitigation actions in the lower Layou River, 2) setting a framework for evacuation decisionmaking, 3) development of a long-term landslide hazard risk assessment and response plan, and 4) evaluation of the suitability of river bed sediments for use as construction materials.
The Caribbean Disaster Mitigation Project (CDMP) and the Caribbean Meteorological Institute (CMI) hosted a regional workshop on storm hazard modeling, held in Barbados on December 9-10, 1997, with the aim of expanding capacity within the region to analyze the effects of storm surge and wind hazards produced by tropical storms. Workshop participants, from throughout the Caribbean, used and applyied the TAOS/L storm hazard model. TAOS/L is a computer-based numerical model that produces estimates of maximum sustained winds at the surface and still water surge height and wave height at the coastline for any coastal area in the Caribbean basin. With this model, the effects of historical, hypothetical or current storms can be assessed.
The Caribbean Meteorological Institute has been designated as the base for the TAOS/L model in the region. Subsequent to this workshop, CMI will assist countries in the region in applying the model to develop information for use in land development and emergency management applications. The purpose of the Caribbean Disaster Mitigation Project is to establish sustainable public/private disaster mitigation mechanisms that measurably lessen loss of life, reduce potential damage, and shorten the disaster recovery period. The CDMP is funded by USAID and executed by the Organization of American States. See the storm hazard modeling section of the CDMP web site for more information on the TAOS model.
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