Disaster-management heads meet before record hurricane season

WITH 23 storms, 11 hurricanes and five major hurricanes predicted for the upcoming Atlantic Basin hurricane season, heads of disaster management organisations have gathered in Port of Spain to determine a regional strategy for the upcoming hurricane season.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 15th technical advisory committee (TAC) meeting of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) at the Hyatt Regency, Port of Spain, on April 16, CDEMA executive director Elizabeth Riley said the meeting came at a critical juncture.

She said on April 4, the Colorado State University issued its forecast, which includes "the highest number of hurricanes ever predicted in an April forecast by this institution." She also said the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) had issued an early alert for excess heat starting this month, and in February, Trinidad and Tobago faced a significant oil spill off Tobago.

Planning and Development Minister Pennelope Beckles gave financial details which underlined Riley's comments, saying economic losses to the region from climate change and its effects have been staggering.

“A 2018 report, Bracing for the Storm, published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), points out that since 1950, of the 511 disasters that had hit small states worldwide, 324 or 63 per cent, occurred in the Caribbean. Total fatalities amounted to 250,000 people, with over 24 million people affected through injury, loss of homes, and loss of livelihoods.”

She said the Caribbean is twice as likely to be hit by natural disasters as other small states, and seven times more likely to be hit than larger states. She said even though in most cases, economic recovery is achieved to varying degrees, fiscal deficits, deteriorating current accounts, growing debt-to-GDP ratios, and rising debt are familiar hallmarks of the post-disaster scenario.

Beckles said according to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), from 2001-2019, the region has lost between 0.2-0.3 per cent of its GDP to natural hazards. She said it also estimated that in 2023, economic loss resulting from climate change-related hazard events in the Caribbean and Latin America amounted to over US$20 billion.

She said the Trinidad and Tobago government appreciated committee participants' strategic and programmatic contribution to disaster-risk reduction, damage and loss.

Emphasising the increasing risk of such events, Riley said they were a stark reminder of "the increasing complexity of our hazard environment, including exacerbation by climate change, and reinforce why our regional comprehensive disaster-management strategy (CDMS) speaks to all hazards, all people, and all phases of the disaster management cycle. Our region's vulnerability to hazards remains at the forefront as we gather for TAC 2024, and reiterates the need for us to work together as co-owners of the CDEMA System to build resilience to hazard impacts.”

She said during the meeting, which will run from April 15-19, the heads would make recommendations for extending the CDMS beyond 2024, integrating new areas and strategically reshaping the treatment of climate change. She said those considerations would ensure that it remains a strategy which reflects strategic foresight and retains the region’s space as a global leader in the resilience discourse.

Riley thanked participating states for their support, including setting up a multi-source trust fund, which she said was essential for CDEMA's sustainability in facilitating diversification of the sources of resources.

It will also allow access more significant funding in support of participating states. Details are yet to be determined, but the states, as owners of CDEMA, will contribute to the trust fund.

She added that arrangements and capacity for delivery also needed to be examined. National disaster offices should be appropriately structured and have the requisite technically skilled staff, and demonstrate commitment to implementing approved programmes should be treated with urgency so that CDEMA participating states can maximise financing opportunities.

On the oil spill to which Riley had referred, Beckles said the spill, first observed on February 7 off the southwest coast of Tobago, had caused immeasurable damage, especially to the island’s coastal ecosystems, and had disrupted various sectors, particularly tourism, health, transport and education.

“Of course, millions of dollars that were reserved for developmental purposes, now must be diverted to deal with this environmental and economic disaster. This tragedy, coming on the heels of covid19, a biological hazard, serves to remind us of the multi-hazard environment that we all must contend with, and the significant threat that these pose to development.

“In response, Trinidad and Tobago, with the support of CDEMA and other partners, has placed a priority on the comprehensive approach to disaster and climate risk management. This is of strategic importance to us, as being an oil and gas-producing nation, we have decided to pursue responsible development and are doing our part to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.”

Beckles listed some initiatives being taken by the government to lessen its emissions, including an Integrated National Adaptation Plan, establishing a nationally determined contributions (NDC) policy, building one of the world's largest low-carbon hydrogen facilities by 2025, promoting the use of renewable energy such as solar and wind power, and implementing energy-efficiency measures in sectors such as transport, industry and building, to reduce emissions and energy consumption.