Blog
By:
  • Maxine Alleyne

The Caribbean is feeling the effects of increasingly severe climatic events such as hurricanes, floods, and tropical storms.  The region is also exposed to potential impacts of other hazards such as earthquakes and volcanic activity which could cause major disruptions, including forcing people to flee from their homes and communities at very short notice.   

When these events cause sudden and severe impact, the costs can be extreme. For example, Hurricane Maria’s damage was estimated at 225% of the GDP of Dominica (2017), and more recently, Hurricane Beryl (July 2024) has caused up to 97% of all buildings on some of the Grenadine islands of Grenada and St. Vincent and the Grenadines to be damaged or destroyed!  Caribbean Small Island States (SIDS) may find it difficult to fully recover on their own, often having to resort to borrow money to rebuild infrastructure which is nowhere near the end of its normal expected lifespan, and to assist people who have lost their homes, and their livelihoods.  In these times, governments reach out to partners, including the UN and other partners and friends, to assist.  

The 2017 Hurricane season tested all previously existing systems.  Category 5 Hurricane Irma hit the Caribbean early in September and was followed one week later by another chart-busting Category 5 Hurricane Maria.  These two hurricanes significantly impacted multiple countries in the Caribbean.   

UN Agencies including the International Organization for Migration (IOM) had warehousing arrangements in Panama, meant to service the Caribbean if Member States required assistance.   However, none of the contingency plans were sufficient for the 2017 scenario.  

Housing in Barbuda was totally destroyed, and the entire island evacuated, Dominica was decimated, St. Maarten, Tortola and Puerto Rico all experienced severe damage to buildings, with thousands of people driven into temporary emergency shelters across the region.   

Ports – both airports and seaports, were badly damaged. The seas were also not safe to travel for emergency deliveries, given that these two major hurricanes happened within one week of each other, and affected the seas for an even longer time. 

Now in 2024, Hurricane Beryl, the most recent hurricane of this year, barreled through the Caribbean causing significant damage to homes, public buildings, and fishing vessels in the three-island state of Grenada, in St Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, and Jamaica. Beryl was the first hurricane of the season, and rapidly strengthened to a Category 5 storm unusually early in the year. This was fueled in part by exceptionally warm ocean temperatures. These factors have led the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to predict in May an 85% chance that the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season would be above normal. 

What did these experiences teach us? 

The scenarios of Irma and Maria highlighted major challenges in accessing basic humanitarian relief supplies stored in Panama and the Northern Caribbean. The UN in the Caribbean recognized these failures and resolved to adapt appropriately – the SIDS of the Caribbean are among the most highly impacted by climate change, and it is not going away. These islands are truly on the frontlines, on the receiving end of these dangerous trends. 

So, what does “prepositioning” items mean? 

In simple terms, prepositioning is simply stockpiling essential goods for access and mobilization during disasters response operation. 

Pre-positioning relief items is a preparedness measure set up by many humanitarian organizations all over the globe. Pre-positioning helps to be better prepared to respond to natural disasters, improving the speed, quality and efficiency of humanitarian responses.  

What has IOM done to face these challenges? 

IOM has used internal funding from its Migration Resource Allocation Committee (MIRAC), to strengthen its preparedness and response capacity in the Caribbean, procuring essential non-food items (NFIs) such as tents, ropes, solar lamps, modular indoor tents, and multipurpose tents for pre-positioning before the start of what has been predicted to be a “hyper-active” hurricane season. Essential relief items are stockpiled in the Caribbean Regional Logistics Hub & Centre of Excellence located on the grounds of the Grantley Adams International Airport, with land provided by the Government of Barbados. 

Thanks to this, IOM has been able to swiftly provide relief to communities heavily impacted by Hurricane Beryl in Grenada, Carriacou, Petite Martinique, and in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines which are now the first ever beneficiaries of this Logistics Hub in Barbados. The Logistics Hub has successfully enhanced regional emergency preparedness and response capacities by strengthening emergency logistics. 

Preparedness and coordinated actions are essential in addressing humanitarian challenges, especially natural disasters borne from climate change.