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Disaster management in the Caribbean: Perspectives on institutional capacity reform and development
JEREMY COLLYMORE*
Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Management Agency, Building No. 1, Manor Lodge Complex, Lodge Hill, Saint Michael, Barbados, West Indies
This paper is a reflective contribution on the issues and processes that have influenced and informed the development and institutionalization of disaster management practice and policy in the Caribbean over the last two and a half decades. It takes the viewpoint of a ‘participant observer’ and seeks to not only describe the events and triggers but also to raise some key questions necessary to chart the way forward.
Keywords: Caribbean; disaster management; mitigation; preparedness; recovery; response
1. Introduction
In the last 25 years, in the Caribbean there has emerged an agenda to develop and maintain an institutional framework and capacity for advancing disaster preparedness and to a lesser extent mitigation. The legal status of the national focal points leading these efforts and their resourcing still present many opportunities for enhancement.
The disconnection between our hazard loss experiences and our disaster initiatives suggests that few governments recognize the long-term economic implications of disasters, especially on their debt structure and the role that hazard mitigation can play in easing economic problems (Collymore, 2008; IDB, 2000; Rasmussen, 2004).
In many situations, it is noted that the passing of regulations and development of technology have not impacted loss reduction behaviour and practice. It may be suggested that this in part reflects the need for more attention to be paid to how one can alter the structure of the market as a medium for promoting desired behaviour and practice (Cummins and Mahul, 2010; Collymore, 2008).
Disaster management has become a policy problem of global scope, which requires the examination of ways in which modern developments magnify the vulnerability of human communities to natural and other hazards, and also the opportunities for reducing this (Cummins and Mahul, 2010; UNDP, 2004).
It calls for a conscious policy that recognizes and addresses the link between land-use decisions and settlement policy and the dramatic increase in hazard exposure (UNDP, 1991).
Current and future disaster management agendas must also face the challenges that disaster reduction measures must meet in the face of unmet capital investment needs, demands for more extensive and efficient cost recovery and shifting focus of donar financial support.
Linking disaster management to development and the environment increases the range of stakeholders engaged in the policy discourse and will require some adjustments in the institutional arrangements. Partnering with other programmes in climate change, sea-level rise, poverty reduction and public sector reform can create the synergies necessary to get the holistic and integrated approach necessary for disaster reduction.
This paper is a reflective contribution on the issues and processes that have influenced and informed the development and institutionalization of disaster management practice and policy in the Caribbean over the last two and a half decades. It takes the viewpoint of a ‘participant observer’ and seeks to not only describe the events and triggers but also to raise some key questions necessary to chart the way forward.
The reflections are focused primarily on the experiences of 16 English-speaking states of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency up to August 2009, now CDEMA (see www.cdema.org).
The ideas I am presenting have been drawn from a number of ‘thought pieces’ that I have put together over the last 25 years and that are fashioned in a way that provides a general vision, my personal vision, of what is required to make disaster management a centrepiece of the decision-making and policy-forming environment in these small island developing states.
The essence of this reflection is driven by a general overview of where we were, where we need to go and how we can get there. These thoughts are set against the four assertions below:
1. Disaster management in the past was event-driven, that is, activities, programmes and related interventions were largely responsive in nature.
2. Except for recent times, contemporary disaster management has been mono-focused, externally driven and response-oriented.
3. The future of disaster management in our islands will largely be influenced by global economic political consideration in our islands.
4. To move forward towards the comprehensive consolidated framework, we need to make fundamental changes to the institutional arrangements for disaster management at the country level.
2. Overview
A cursory review of disaster management initiatives, programmes, policies and activities within the last 25 years in the region clearly indicates a strong link to the major event impact episodes in the region. I have chosen the last 25 years because the larger part of our generation has a distinct connection and some experience, even though limited, with this period. It also represents a period in which most of the states, with the exception of the Overseas Territories, through independence, became responsible for managing their systems of government and institutions. This brought a cohort of indigenous leaders to the forefront of national decision making and the attendant challenges of making tough choices on development options in the face of limited resources.
2.1. Evidence of exposure and impact
The Caribbean Region, largely comprised of small island developing states (SIDS) and low-lying coastal states (LLCS), is widely acknowledged as being the second most prone to a range of natural hazards, including hurricanes, floods, landslides and occasional volcanic eruptions. The region experiences regular annual losses due to natural hazard events in the order of US$3 billion. More than 68 per cent of these losses are in the social and productive sector. Additionally 60 per cent of the population of the region resides in the coastal zone. Further, 70 per cent of all economic activity takes place within two miles of the coastline (Table 1).
TABLE 1 Examples of the impact of disaster events on the GDP of Caribbean countries
Time | Place | Disaster | Impact |
1988 | Jamaica | Hurricane Gilbert | 65% GDP |
1989 | 5 countries | Hurricane Hugo | US$412m |
1999 | Dominica | Hurricane Lenny | 53% GDP |
2004 | Haiti & DR | Flooding | 270 deaths |
2004 | Grenada | Hurricane Ivan | US$895m |
2004 | Jamaica | Hurricane Ivan | US$592m |
2005 | Guyana | Flooding | 60% GDP |
Social and economic losses from disasters in the Caribbean are often severe, including loss of life, loss of homes and livelihoods, environmental damage, damage to critical infrastructure and damage to the economic base of countries. Tourism and agriculture, which form the basis of economic development for most Caribbean states and territories, are typically immediately disrupted when disasters occur.
Climate change is likely to affect the Caribbean region’s experiences with disasters. This can already be observed in the increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events experienced. From 1970 to 1979, there were 15 category 3, 4 and 5 hurricanes. From 1980 to 1989, there were 17 category 3, 4 and 5 hurricanes. From 1990 to 1999, there were 25 category 3, 4 and 5 hurricanes experienced in the region. Between 2000 and 2008, there have been more than 29 severe hurricanes in the region. The key issue that is raised by this observation is the need for further enhancement of preparedness and response and mitigation capabilities within the region in light of the anticipated effects of climate change (Table 2).
Existing data also indicate an increase in the number of deaths in the region attributed to earthquakes and tsunamis between 1500 and 1999. Table 1 shows that approximately 16,500 earthquake fatalities occurred since 1600. The most fatal event – a magnitude 8 thrust earthquake – occurred in 1843 between Guadeloupe and Antigua. About 6,000 persons were killed in Guadeloupe. Other significant earthquakes include the Port Royal (1692) and Kingston (1907) events and the 1842 event in Hispaniola. All four events claimed more than 1,000 lives. The January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti resulted in more than 200,000 deaths, 8 billion in losses (CEDMA, 2010). Most earthquake related casualties occurred in the Greater Antilles. These islands are also the most populous, and most of the deaths were due to secondary hazards such as landslides, tsunamis, liquefaction and fire.
TABLE 2 Major hurricanes in the Caribbean by decades, 1970–2008
Category of hurricane | 1970–79 | 1980–89 | 1990–99 | 2000–08 |
Category 3 | 9 | 7 | 11 | 10+ |
Category 4 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 12+ |
Category 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 7 + |
Total | 15 | 17 | 25 | 29+ |
The hazardousness of this region is not in question.
2.2. Episodes of change in DRR in CDEMA states
The first period of significant intervention in the area of institutionalized disaster management took place subsequent to 1979 after a number of large impacting events in the region, starting with the 1974 earthquake in Antigua and Barbuda, followed by a series of hurricanes in 1979 (Hurricanes David and Frederick), the volcanic eruption in Vincent and the Grenadines in 1979 and extensive flooding in Jamaica also in 1979, and then in 1980 Hurricane Allen (Collymore, 1987).
These were followed by a decade of diverse impacting events which many communities in the Caribbean region stretching from as far south as the Windward Islands and going as far north as the Greater Antilles, with significant loss of life, substantive damage to property and loss of revenue (Table 3).
TABLE 3 Hazards impacting CARICOM states: 1988–1999
Hazard | Year | Magnitude | Estimated cost | Countries affected |
Hurricane Hugo | 1989 | Category 4/5 | $759.4m | Antigua and Barbuda British Virgin Islands Dominica, Montserrat |
Tropical Storm Debby | 1994 | Less than 74 mph | | S Lucia |
Iris/Marilyn/Luis | 1995 | Iris – Category 3/4 Marilyn – Category 1 Luis – Category 3 | $1,858m | Anguilla, A... |
