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 recommenda
