It is common knowledge that hurricanes cause tremendous damage, with strong winds that could tear off roofs and knock down houses, heavy rainfall and flooding that could wash away crops and cause landslides and rough seas and high waves battering coastlines and damaging boats.
Over the last decade, more than 100 tropical storms and hurricanes have hit the region, with the worst demolishing entire small island states and causing millions of dollars in damage.
Hurricane Beryl, the first hurricane of this year's season, ran a path of destruction across the Caribbean, causing power outages in Tobago and Jamaica, significant damage to St Vincent and Grenadines, as well as Grenada, and wreaking havoc in Mexico and the US.
TT in preparation for the hurricane shuttered banks, closed up shops and was put under warning as the storm formed and passed near Tobago.
Some 20 years after catastrophic hurricane Ivan, the Caribbean remains at high risk from increasing severity, frequency and unpredictability in weather patterns such as rain, storms, heat and even drought, all of which are exacerbated by climate change.
Several bodies and organisations locally and regionally have put measures in place for response on a large scale with private sector organisations partnering with the public sector to roll out relief in quick time to affected island states. But individual measures to protect homes, such as proper insurance still has a low penetration level in the region.
Although there have been efforts in response, preparedness and the building of resilience against hurricanes the level of preparedness in the Caribbean, which is one of the most affected regions, still remains varied.
Responses varied
Business Day was told while each Caribbean state has the support of organisations such as Caribbean Disaster and Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) and the joint chambers, individual responsibility to prepare for hurricanes is still important. Speaking from Union Island in the Grenadines on Tuesday, CDEMA executive director Elizabeth Riley said that the preparedness levels for each island is mixed, at best, but, people are becoming more aware of the importance of being prepared.
[caption id="attachment_1095594" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Pirogues hauled ashore in Charlotteville from Man-o-War Bay, Tobago, prior to passage of Hurricane Beryl. - Photo by Darren Bahaw[/caption]
“In the general population across the region there is definitely awareness,” she said.
She said the media’s reports on the effects of hurricanes help to bring the message home to the public.
“It assists with the reality of the type of impacts that any of us can suffer,” she said. “We are all vulnerable to it. With the increased media coverage really highlighting the importance of being resilient and the importance of individual preparedness which complements the efforts of governments, it is heightening the awareness across the region.”
But she noted that in certain islands that have been more recently affected by hurricanes, the pre
