By: Staff Writer
August 8, 2023
The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) in collaboration with the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) completed a project for early warning systems for the Caribbean that aims to help countries in the region predict natural disaster patterns and evens.
The US$ 6.5 million Strengthening Hydro-Meteorological and Early Warning Systems in the Caribbean (CREWS Caribbean) project, led by WMO in collaboration with the World Bank GFDRR and UNDRR, and funded by the Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems (CREWS) Initiative, addressed gaps in Early Warning Services (EWS) which were identified in an assessment of the devastating 2017 Caribbean hurricane season. The project targeted CARICOM members, and worked at the regional, national and local level.
Dr. Arlene Laing, Coordinating Director of the Caribbean Meteorological Organization, noted that “Meteorological Legislation, Policy and the National Strategic Plans and Frameworks are foundational to strengthening the hydro-meteorological services of Caribbean Member States. They help NMHSs to establish appropriate legal mandates with well-defined roles, responsibilities and adequate resources to support their national economies, better predict high-impact hydro-meteorological events and correlated hazards, and deliver user-oriented services.”
“Against this background, the CREWS Caribbean project closed an important gap in respective countries, as it provided clear legal mandates in the Caribbean, where most National Meteorological Services have been operating in the absence of specific legislation or updated strategic plans,” said Dr Laing.
The project took three years and could not have come any sooner as the brunt of the Atlantic hurricane season is upon us and will get more intense as we hit the September and November months.
The Caribbean region is highly exposed to severe hydrometeorological hazards such as hurricanes and tropical storms, floods, landslides, and storm surges. Exposure and vulnerabilities vary across different islands, and socioeconomic development, infrastructure, ecosystems, and access to resources and information play a role in determining the level of vulnerability to these hazards.
According to the World Bank, every year, the region suffers from over US$ 1.6 billion in damages triggered by natural hazards. Advances in science and technology make it possible to forecast hazards and disseminate warnings, but more can be done to strengthen understanding of the potential impact of complex hazards so that countries and communities can take appropriate anticipatory action.
In June 2023, the Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems (CREWS) Initiative steering committee members approved funding for a new three-year, US$ 7 million project in the region. The project, currently in its development phase, will be led by WMO and UNDRR, and will be strongly aligned with the Early Warnings for All Initiative. It will look to effectively strengthen Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems (MHEWS) through improved disaster risk knowledge, strengthened service provision by National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) and National Disaster Management Offices (NDMOs), and strengthened warning dissemination capabilities, with a special focus on reaching the last mile. Proposed project components include:
Strengthening MHEWS governance at the regional level
Improving disaster risk knowledge at the regional, national, and local level
Strengthening NMHS service provision (including observations, monitoring, analysis, and forecasting) at the regional and national level
Supporting warning dissemination and communication, preparedness, and response capabilities at the regional, national and local level
The project is expected to commence in the last quarter of 2023.