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Contact:
Julita Peter
Tuesday, February 03, 2004 – In the last two decades extensive disasters
in the Caribbean have resulted in damage amounting to some US$5 billion, with
some small Caribbean countries having incurred costs, as much as 53 per cent of
their Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Against this background the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response Agency (CDERA)
and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) are collaborating to assist Caribbean
states reduce losses from such natural disasters.
The second round of workshops designed to help disaster managers and emergency
planners when undertaking vulnerability reduction activities, got underway here
on Monday February 2nd, at the NIC conference centre. The workshop brought
together a wide cross section of participants from Government departments and
ministries, disaster managers, architects, engineers, development planners,
media, private sector, non-governmental organisations and representatives of
NEMO.
Deputy Chairman of the National Emergency Management Organization-NEMO and
Cabinet Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, Dr. James Fletcher says
“A necessary outcome of the hazard mitigation process must be better integration
of data collection , analysis and information dissemination. There is a lot of
data collection taking place; however there is very little collaboration where
agencies are not analysing the data as we very often find ourselves making
poorly informed decisions.”
CEDERA’s Program Manager for Mitigation and Research, Elizabeth Riley believes
such interventions are necessary as evident by disaster-related losses incurred
in the economic, social and environmental sectors within the region. Miss Riley
says “These events have placed increasing strain on already stretched
preparedness and response mechanism and have resulted in the diversion of
critical funds earmarked for development activities.”
CEDERA throughout 2004 will be providing additional support to the Government of
St. Lucia through a number of initiatives designed to strengthen the national
capacity for managing disasters in a comprehensive way. Meanwhile under the
US$2.9 million United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security St. Lucia will
receive over $300,000.00 for the purchase of a search and rescue vehicle, first
responder’s kits and generators to enhance the islands’ capability for land base
search and rescue.
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