The Caribbean region is highly exposed to multiple hazards, in particular, those of hydro-meteorological nature such as hurricanes, tropical storms, floods, landslides, and storm surges. Specific exposure and levels of vulnerability vary across different islands within the Caribbean, and factors such as socioeconomic conditions, infrastructure development, ecosystem health, and access to resources and information play a crucial role in determining these levels.
The economic and social life in the Caribbean is intricately linked to the climate and the natural environment, making countries more vulnerable to climate variations and change. Every year, the region suffers over US$ 1.6 billion in average direct natural hazard-triggered disaster damages (World Bank, 2018). In the coming decades, climate variability will continue to cause pressure and impacts across the sub-region that will likely affect key sectors and vulnerable groups, including people living in poverty and the elderly.
Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems that provide timely, actionable information are critical to protecting lives, assets, and livelihoods in the Caribbean. While advances in science and technology make it possible to forecast many hazards and disseminate warnings, it is not sufficient. Risk-informed decision making requires countries to continually improve and update their understanding of the potential impact of complex hazards so authorities, people and businesses can take appropriate anticipatory action. To access the high-quality information needed to mitigate hazard impacts, national and regional cooperation is essential. Effective disaster management, climate change adaptation strategies, and community resilience-building efforts are also crucial in reducing the risks and protecting the well-being of both people and ecosystems in the Caribbean.
The “Strengthening Hydro-Meteorological and Early Warning Services in the Caribbean" (CREWS Caribbean) project, implemented between 2018-2023 funded by the Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems (CREWS) Initiative and implemented by the World Bank Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), delivered key results to equip the region with tools to better prepare for hazards in the future.
Addressing the long-term sustainability of Early Warning Systems (EWS) in Small Island Developing States poses significant challenges. To tackle this issue, the WMO has undertaken various initiatives through the CREWS Caribbean project. The primary goal was to bridge existing gaps and ensure that EWS tools and frameworks were not only implemented but also owned by the respective countries.
WMO's good practices include encouraging governments to allocate consistent resources from their national budgets for the maintenance and sustainability of EWS. This – through the project - was fostered through the development of National Legislation and policy, complemented by the integration of EWS into National Strategic Plans. Moreover, WMO along with its local, regional, and international development partners, has been instrumental in organizing national dialogues, comprehensive planning processes, and cross-border collaborations to foster technical cooperation and coordination.
A crucial aspect of this effort was promoting inter-institutional coordination and engagement. At the very least, this includes active participation from the National Meteorological Services and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) and the National Offices for Disaster Risk Management (NDRMOs). However, itis essential not to overlook the needs of the most vulnerable members of the community.
Further, modern EWS require the application of new technology. In Jamaica, , in collaboration with many national and international partners, support was provided for the development of a weather App,, accessible for more than 1.8 million smartphone users in the country, along with other outreach activities to local communities, providing more precise and regular forecasts and warnings for the Jamaican population than ever before.
By prioritizing sustainability, encouraging country ownership, and ensuring inclusion of efforts down to the "last mile," key deliverables achieved through the project included:
- A Caribbean Strategic Roadmap for Advancing Multi-hazard Impact Based Early Warning Systems in the Caribbean
- A meteorological model legislation and policy developed and adapted to national circumstances in Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines
- National Strategic Plans including Frameworks for Weather, Water and Climate Services developed and endorsed for Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Turks and Caicos Islands, St Kitts and Nevis and St Vincent and the Grenadines
- Implementation of the Common Alerting Protocol supported in Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, as well as the Turks and Caicos Islands
- Risk Information Exchange repositories developed for Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago to support the transition to Impact Based Forecasting
- Community Based Flood Management Activities implemented in Antigua and Barbuda and Trinidad and Tobago
In conclusion, WMO has made a concerted effort in promoting long-term sustainability, strengthening, and maintaining EWS in the Small Island Developing States of the Caribbean, and this has yielded tangible results. By fostering cooperation among various stakeholders and considering the needs of the most vulnerable, the CREWS Caribbean Initiative has brought about significant positive changes in disaster resilience and risk reduction in the region. These efforts will be replicated and complemented in the second phase of the CREWS Caribbean project, which was approved by the CREWS Steering Committee in June. The main objective of this upcoming project, which will be strongly aligned with the Early Warnings For All Initiative, is to effectively strengthen Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems in the Caribbean region through improved disaster risk knowledge, strengthened NDRMOs and NHMS’ service provision, and stronger warning and dissemination capabilities with a special focus on reaching the last mile and including most vulnerable groups.
WMO seeks to participate in the International Hazards Session of the Annual American MET Society Meeting in the context of the development and initiation of this new project in the Caribbean, to discuss and exchange on best practices, lessons learned and innovative approaches.
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